JonBenét Ramsey's father reveals major breakthrough in search for her killer

Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

The father of JonBenét Ramsey, a six-year-old girl who was murdered at home on Boxing Day 28 years ago, has revealed a major breakthrough in the hunt for her killer.

JonBenét was found beaten to death and sexually assaulted in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996, in a case that stumped authorities for decades.

Her mom, Patsy Ramsey, called police that morning after discovering a ransom note and the little girl missing from her bedroom.

The handwritten note said she had been kidnapped and demanded $118,000 for her safe return.

Tragically, hours later, her father John Ramsey discovered their daughter's lifeless body in the basement.

The case rocked America, particularly as videos emerged of the six-year-old's beauty pageants, where she won titles such as Little Miss Colorado and National Miss Tiny Beauty.

John and Patsy Ramsey in May 1997 appealing for information about their daughter's killer (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Local police suspected the parents and even their son, Burke, who was just nine at the time, as being involved in the crime until 2008 when an old DNA sample from the scene identified the presence of an 'unknown male'.

While the family were cleared of being involved in JonBenét's sadistic murder, the youngster's killer has never been caught - and Patsy died of cancer in 2006 without any answers.

However, the case received fresh interest when a Netflix docuseries, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, came to the platform this year.

JonBenét was just six when she was killed (Netflix)

Speaking to the Daily Mail, John said he is hopeful that the show, which millions have watched, has shone a spotlight on the case which could bring them closer to getting justice for JonBenét, even though the attention has also attracted 'cranks'.

In one example, he received a letter from a woman, allegedly naming her ex-husband as the killer, but didn't answer when John called.

The 81-year-old said this has happened to several 'leads', having had about 'half a dozen' of these fruitless calls, though he said he takes them all seriously and passes each one to a private investigator.

John, now 81, is determined to find answers (Netflix)

The father also revealed there have been two major breakthroughs with the case, as a detective he considered a 'roadblock' in the investigation has been disciplined and retired, with a new chief of police in their place, and the FBI now on the case.

John said the family are 'begging' the new chief to to do more testing on the unidentified DNA as he says the technique has been key to solving many cold cases.

Meanwhile, the FBI has built a 'profile' of the killer which paints him as someone who was in his 20s or 30s at the time and 'infatuated with movies'.

The FBI reportedly deemed the ransom note a 'fantasy' and was 'obviously written by a psychopath, without any emotions like a normal human being, and he would have exhibited sadistic behavior in the past', John said.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.