The brutal murder of JonBenét Ramsey captured the world's attention, and would continue to do so for decades as the case remained unsolved.

It took 12 years after the six-year-old beauty queen's death for police to formally rule out family members as possible suspects in the murder, and thanks to emerging forensic technology, the case is getting a fresh look.

Even more stunning is the suggestion that new DNA matching could prove that her killer is definitely not a member of her family, according to The Messenger.

Boulder, Colo. authorities have recently submitted pieces of evidence to build a new DNA profile, which thanks to the help of ancestry-tracking websites, could point to a new suspect.

What's happening?

The 1996 unsolved murder has frustrated the girl's family, and especially her father, who had a public falling out with local authorities who he once claimed weren't doing enough to solve the case.

With new leadership in place and a renewed sense of ambition to bring closure to the case, that could soon change.

The Messenger noted:

A successful familial DNA search could identify the killer or potential relatives of whoever is responsible for JonBenét's brutal 1996 murder. Investigators hope the process will help them narrow their focus in their decades-long search for a suspect.

The Boulder police, who didn't rule out her family until 2008, now confidently believes that the DNA profile will likely match an intruder.

"No one in the department expects the familial DNA to be a Ramsey, or even a distant Ramsey relative," a source within the Boulder Police Department reportedly told The Messenger. "We expect it to be someone completely unrelated."

The young girl had been discovered horrifically murdered in the basement of her family home, strangled, with a garrote around her neck. A ransom note was also found at the scene.

Father "impressed"

Her father, John Ramsey, recently told local media that he's "impressed" with the new urgency and willingness to solve the decades-old cold case.

Boulder police are looking into new possible “persons of interest” in the JonBenét Ramsey case. John Ramsey, the father of JonBenét Ramsey, says he’s been “impressed” by new police leadership on the case.

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"We know there's evidence that was taken from the crime scene that was never tested for DNA. There are a few cutting edge labs that have the latest technology. That's where this testing ought to be done," John Ramsey recently said.

Only time will tell if technology helps crack the case, but the family seems relieved that something is being done.