The Murder of Britney Ujlaky
For this case, I watched an episode of People Magazine Investigates. It’s season 7 episode 4, titled ‘Final Rodeo.’
A 16-year-old disappears after being dropped off by a friend.
Background
Gabrielle ‘Britney’ Ujlaky was born in Colorado to parents Jim and Alisha. She also had a younger brother, James, whom she was very close to.
The rodeo circuit was very big in Elko, Nevada. The area is known for its Native American lands, ranches, and mining industry. Jim got a job as a gold minor, so the Ujlaky family moved to Elko in August 2010. Britney was 7 at the time, and James was 6.
Britney learned how to ride horses once they moved to Elko. She was also very strong and independent. Jim and Alisha realized that their marriage was not working, so they divorced. Britney lived with her dad so that she could take care of her horse.
Britney Ujlaky
The Disappearance
On Sunday, March 8, 2020, Britney went with her dad to his band practice. Jim said Britney was sending SnapChats to her friends, and told him that her friend, Bryce Dickey was picking her up. Bryce was 18 and had met Britney at the local rodeo.
Jim said he came home around 7:30 pm. Britney wasn’t there. He tried contacting her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Jim contacted Alisha, but Britney wasn’t with her. Alisha tried contacting her too, but again, her phone went straight to voicemail. James also hadn’t heard from her.
James contacted Bryce to see if he remembered anything else from when he picked Britney up.
Bryce told James that he had dropped Britney off at Spring Creek High School. Bryce said he last saw Britney with a tall white guy with a “cowboy look.” He said the man drove an ugly green Ford F-150 that looked like it was from the 2000s.
The Investigation
Around 6 am the next morning, Britney’s family contacted the police to file a missing persons report. A deputy went over to take a statement from the family.
Alisha told the police that Bryce had last seen Britney at Spring Creek High School. Bryce had said that the cowboy seemed sketchy. Britney’s family wondered why he would have just left her there.
One of Britney’s close friends knew that Britney had been communicating with someone she called ‘J.T.’
Another officer met with Bryce in the parking lot of Spring Creek High School. Bryce said he picked Britney up and asked her what she wanted to do. They drove around until Bryce received a call from his dad asking him to head home. Bryce said he had last seen Britney getting into a dark forest green truck with the tall cowboy.
The police didn’t think that Bryce was suspicious and let him go after his statement.
The Discovery
The police had a ping from Britney’s phone. The phone pinged off of Boyd-Kennedy Road, which was about 5 miles from Spring Creek High School. Britney’s family and friends did their own search for her. They printed out about 500 missing-person flyers and hung them up everywhere.
Britney’s friends messaged Bryce asking if he could think of a location where they hadn’t searched yet. Bryce told them to search near Spring Creek Mountains. He also asked their friends not to blame him.
On March 10, Alisha received a text message from an unknown number. This person claimed to have Britney and said that she was very sick. They also asked for money. Alisha was told by the police to not respond right away, but this made the unknown texter very angry. The person texted again and said they would kill Britney if Alisha didn’t respond.
On March 11, two local men were traveling near Burner Basin, which was about 18 miles outside of town. They contacted the police after finding blood on the roadway and a blue tarp out in the field.
When the police arrived, they found a female body underneath the blue tarp. The victim was lying facedown. It was clear that there had been a sexual assault. The pants and underwear had been found pulled down to the ankles. A puncture wound was found on the victim’s neck. A pair of keys and a lanyard were found nearby with the name ‘Brittany’ on it.
A used condom, a condom wrapper, and a pair of headphones were found nearby in a sagebrush. The condom and wrapper were collected for testing.
Who Killed Britney?
Britney’s family was notified that the body that had been found was Britney’s.
The police continued to examine Alisha’s phone to track the person behind the ransom messages. It was a spoof number that wasn’t traced in Nevada. It was a dead end.
Britney’s cause of death was strangulation and a neck wound that severed the corroded artery. It was determined that Britney had been sexually assaulted and that the killer’s DNA was left on her neck. Britney also had defensive wounds on her hands.
The police turned back to the cowboy named J.T. According to her friends, Britney had been in communication with him mostly through Snapchat. One of her friends said he had lived in the area, but had been in Alaska at the time that Britney disappeared.
There was a large transient population that would travel into the area to work on various ranches. The police wondered if the killer could have been a transient. However, this was also a dead end.
One of the Ujlaky’s neighbors eventually said they knew of a man named J.T. that owned a ranch and drove a green F-F150. The police found 2 ranch hands named J.T., but neither were in the area when Britney disappeared.
The Friend
The police asked Alisha if she knew of anyone who’d want to hurt Britney. Alisha said there had been someone that Britney had a crush on several months earlier. He dressed like a cowboy and drove a nice car. He had tried to move too fast with Britney and she didn’t like it. He didn’t like that she rejected him so he broke it off with her. Britney was still friends with his younger sister.
One night Britney was in a car with his younger sister, and they got into a car accident. After the accident, the man became really angry and mean. He would tell Britney to kill herself and that he wished she was dead. He had said that he hoped that they would find her raped and murdered in the desert. Three months later, Britney was dead.
The police were able to find surveillance footage of this man at his job during the time that Britney disappeared. He was eliminated.
After several dead ends, the police turned their investigation back to Bryce. The police searched the surveillance cameras from nearby homes and businesses hoping to see the green truck in the footage.
The Maverick Gas station down the street from the high school had cameras. There wasn’t any sign of a green Ford F-150. But they did see Bryce’s blue Chevy truck drive by. His truck passed the high school and continued on the road where Britney’s body was eventually found.
The Evidence
On March 8, 2020, at 3:30 pm, Britney was picked up by Bryce from her dad’s band practice near Angel Park. They drove past the Maverick gas station at about 4 pm. The police searched Britney and Bryce’s photo data to see if Britney would still have been in the truck when they passed the gas station.
The phones traveled together from Angel Park, to the gas station, and to Burner Basin where Britney’s body was found.
Bryce was asked to go to the police station and share his phone data with the police. He was also asked to provide a sample of his DNA so he could be eliminated. Bryce agreed to give a sample of his DNA.
Both Bryce and Britney’s DNA was found on the used condom. Bryce’s DNA had also been found under Britney’s fingernails, and on Britney’s neck.
The police interviewed Bryce again and asked him if he and Britney had ever been intimate. Bryce said no, and that he looked at Britney like his little sister.
When Bryce was confronted, he changed his story several times. He was told that a used condom and Britney’s body had been found. He was also told that his DNA was found on her and on the condom.
He said Britney was being flirty with him for some reason. He said they kissed and he had gotten a blowjob through a condom. He also said that Britney was picked up by this cowboy on Boyd-Kennedy Road. He never met the man but saw what he looked like and what kind of car he drove.
The Arrest and Conviction
On March 19, 2020, Bryce Dickey was arrested and charged with murder.
On May 9, 2022, Bryce went on trial. Jim attended the trial every day. He said he sat in the courtroom and had to look at every picture that was put up. He said it almost killed him.
After a 9-day trial, Bryce was found guilty of first-degree murder and sexual assault. He was sentenced to two life terms.
Bryce has never given a reason as to why he killed Britney.
Bryce Dickey
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believed Bryce had been having feelings for Britney. He thought that she may have been showing some interest in him and made his move. However, Britney had never been interested in Bryce that way. Maybe he felt rejected and killed her. Britney was only 16 and had her whole life ahead of her. My heart goes out to Britney’s family and I hope they are healing.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/gabrielle-britney-ujlaky-murder-where-is-bryce-dickey-now/
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/gabrielle-britney-ujlaky-murder-bryce-dickey-convicted-gets-life
https://people.com/crime/young-nevada-man-found-guilty-of-raping-murdering-teen-family-friend/
