Gabrielle “Britney” Ujlaky, a 16-year-old teen girl from Spring Creek, Nevada, was murdered by someone she held close back in 2020. She was a cowgirl who loved makeup and the promise of the future. Sadly, she also believed one of her rodeo friends was like a big brother.
But soon, police say, that the same friend betrayed her only to r— and kill her. In March 2020, Britney vanished from her family home.
Three days later, the teen girl’s partly-dressed body was found under a tarp on a road in Burner Basin, which is a remote stretch of the Nevada desert. A coroner determined that the teenager had been strangled and stabbed to death.
The early part of the investigation was confusing, though. At the time, law enforcement was following leads from those closest to Britney. Among them was 18-year-old Bryce Dickey, a fellow rodeo circuit regular the teen girl had known for years.
Dickey said he had seen Britney getting into a green pickup truck with a “tall cowboy.” This led to investigators beginning their search for a stranger.
But after authorities failed to locate the truck or driver, forensic testing on the c—– found near the scene of crime revealed DNA from both Britney and Dickey. He initially denied having any s—– contact with the teen girl, but later admitted they had been intimate.
Still, the evidence didn’t add up to this new story.
Britney Ujlaky disappeared after leaving her dad’s band practice to grab a ride with her friend. She was never seen alive again. #DatelineUnforgettable #OxygenTrueCrimeNews
Visit the link for more: https://t.co/gO2kJuzpSB pic.twitter.com/Rn83DSSFQF
— Oxygen True Crime (@oxygen) August 14, 2025
According to a criminal complaint obtained by People Magazine, prosecutors said Dickey wrapped a ligature around Britney’s neck to choke her before assaulting her. He then proceeded to slash her throat.
Investigators also found boots covered in blood in Dickey’s closet, tying him to the crime against someone who thought of him as a friend.
Britney’s family had described Dickey as a friend Britney trusted and viewed as a protective presence. The teen girl’s father, James Ujlaky, later said there was no worse betrayal than realizing the person she thought was a good friend would be behind her death.
Dickey pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors pointed to both physical evidence and testimony about his behavior. During his 2022 trial, a former girlfriend of his also testified that Dickey had been violent with her and choked her.
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Jurors took four hours before finding him guilty of all charges. He was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and s—– assault.
Dickey was sentenced to decades behind bars, specifically 70 years. But Britney’s mother, Alisha Ujlaky, is averse to the idea that Dickey could seek release some day.
