Britney Ujlaky: Murder of a Cowgirl

On March 8, 2020, in Spring Creek, Nevada, a 16-year-old Brittney Ujlaky disappeared after hanging out with a friend. She left to meet a boy in a green truck. In a small town, nothing bad happens; everyone knows everyone, there are no strangers, presumably, and no one locks their doors. This all changed when Britney vanished without a trace. The truth is not what it seems, and in towns like this, secrets never stay buried for long.

Hello, welcome back to my blog, where I deep dive into true crime, paranormal phenomena, cults, and history. Before further ado, let’s get into today’s case. This is a case I saw covered twice and wanted to cover because I had never heard of it previously, and not many people were covering it. Today, I am discussing the horrendous murder of Britney Ujlaky. This is her story

Who Was Britney?

Today’s case takes place in Spring Creek, Nevada. Spring Creek is located in the northeastern region of Nevada, just outside of Elko. It is an authentic country town full of ranches and rodeos. Spring Creek has a population of 21,000 people, making it a tight-knit, quiet community nestled in the high desert of Elko County. It has open land that stretches for miles. It is the type of place where people move for peace and safety. This is one of those towns where nothing bad ever happens, until it does, and changes a town forever.

In this small town, the Ujlaky family lived, including the main subject of this case, Britney. She was born as Gabrielle Lynn Ujlaky. I am uncertain of why she went by Britney, other than she preferred it, but everyone called her Britney, so that is what I am going to refer to her by. Britney was born to Jim and Alicia Ujlaky in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on June 4, 2003. The following year, her mother gave birth to her younger brother James.

Britney and James had a strong bond, given their small age gap, and were like best friends. The family was actually extremely close. In 2010, when Britney was seven, the family moved to Spring Creek, Nevada. The move was made so Jim could work as a gold miner. Jim and Alicia eventually separated, but even though Alicia moved out, she lived nearby, and the parents continued to raise the children as a unit. Britney was very close to both parents, but was especially close to her father. Same!

Spring Creek is what made Britney into the cowgirl she ultimately became. She loved everything country, from ranching to attending the rodeo and riding ATVs. She specifically loved to ride horses, learning how to cattle drive on horseback at the young age of nine. She was a beautiful, free spirit. Despite her beauty, she was a quintessential cowgirl, not to be messed with. Her friend Saquarra Ashby said, “The way that she carried herself was very like you don’t want to mess with me, like she stood up straight and she squared her shoulders. She never slouched.”

She dreamt of being a rodeo queen. She was described as free-spirited, strong, independent, and a girl with high morals. She would ride off on her horse for hours, doing her own thing. At the same time, she worked at a local ranch. She was always the first to saddle up and round up livestock. She definitely would have made it in the rodeo circuit. She was also a typical girl, experimenting with makeup and picking flowers. She lived by the motto that no matter what type of day someone was having, flowers would cheer them up. She was silly and bubbly and loved to make people happy. Her plans after high school were between enlisting in the Navy and studying counseling to help people in the military with mental health issues, and something like special effects makeup. She had different interests, nothing wrong with that; it gives you so many options.

Unfortunately, she switched to homeschooling due to extreme bullying. Her best friend said that all of a sudden, people turned on her and started being awful to her. She suspected jealousy, and I honestly agree. They probably saw she was not only beautiful but also talented, and they felt insecure. My daughter dealt with the same, around the same time, except she was younger. 2020 was a crappy time, and people took their pain out on people they saw as better than them. She focused her energy on the rodeo, and that is where she met a new friend, Bryce Dickey.

Britney’s Disappearance & The Mysterious Cowboy

On Sunday, March 8, 2020, Britney accompanied her father to his band’s practice. He was in a heavy metal band. Jim would say his daughter would critique the band’s playing, telling them if they missed a note or sang it incorrectly. She sat there listening to his set, snapping friends, then invited a friend named Bryce to the practice.

Britney and Bryce had a brother-sister relationship. She referred to him as “big bro” and called her “little sis”. He was a couple of years older and had been in a relationship with a girl for the last few years, so it was very much platonic. Jim and Alicia trusted him because he was polite and shy and always brought Britney back home on time. His friends said he was compassionate and helped anyone who needed it. They met when he was 13, and she was 11. At the time of the case, she was 16, and he was 18. They looked at him as a bonus kid.

Before the practice was over, she told her father that they were going to hang out outside of the practice, and then Bryce would drop her off at home. She told her father that she would beat him home. She hopped in his blue Chevy truck around 3:30 PM. Then Bryce drove off. This would be the last time Jim saw his daughter. After practice, Jim went out to dinner with his bandmates, then headed home. He called Britney on his way, but she did not answer. This was very unusual for her, as she was pretty good about answering her phone. He got home around 7:30 PM, expecting Britney to be there, but she was not. He attempted to call her again, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Now he was getting really worried. He called Alicia, Britney’s mom, to see if she had gone to see her and had forgotten to let him know, but he had not heard from her. After talking to Jim, she decided to try calling Britney, but her phone went straight to voicemail. This sent off her mom’s institution. This was not like Britney. She would have contacted her father and said she would be out later and who she was with.

Jim and Alicia talk to her brother and ask if he has heard from Britney. He did not, so he tells them that. He thought maybe she was blowing off steam, possibly engaging in underage drinking, after all, she is sixteen, and sometimes that happens. Alicia asked him to contact Bryce and see if he knows anything. He texted Bryce and asked if he knew where Britney was. He said he dropped her off at the high school with a cowboy-looking white guy in a “ugly green Ford F-150 truck”. Bryce then rounded up friends to conduct a search party. He felt guilty and said he should have just taken her home, but Britney told him that she was just going to call her dad to pick her up.

This is when friends and family really began to panic. No one knew this mystery cowboy. A friend did say that, according to Britney, she was talking to a guy named JT. They did not know him, what he looked like, or what vehicle he drove. They also knew Britney; she was responsible and would not just go off on a whim or fail to contact family and friends. This is when they called the sheriff to file a missing person’s report. It was dismissed early on that she was just rebelling, as it was not in her character. The deputy visited the family to speak with Britney’s mom and her brother James. They show police messages from Bryce via Snapchat that describe the truck this mystery guy was driving. The police then ask about Bryce, as he was the last confirmed person to see Britney. They told the police that Bryce is her best friend and that they have a brother-sister-type relationship.

The police ask Bryce to meet them at the high school to go through the night of March 8. Bryce said that they just drove, without a plan. This was pretty normal for them, as they usually did not have a plan. They drove around for a few hours in Spring Creek, then he received a call from his dad, saying he needed to come home. He told Britney that he had to drop her off at home, and she asked him to drop her off at the high school. She claimed she was going to meet up with a new friend, but was unsure of his name. He told them that he wished he could give them a name. When they arrived at the high school, they said goodbye, and she walked over to a green pickup truck. He drove away when he saw Britney talking to a white guy, looking like a cowboy, with a hat and all, driving a green truck with stickers on the back. The last time he saw Britney was walking over to the truck and talking to the guy. He did not actually see her get into the truck, nor did he get the license plate number. He ended up driving off, leaving. her with her new friend.

The fact that he left a girl he referred to as his little sister alone with some random guy, without asking any questions about him or the situation, is quite confusing to everyone, but they still proceed. He showed his conversations with Britney. The last ones he sent to her asked where she was and if she was okay, with no response, and also referred to her as little sis. He went on to describe how Britney was bullied and had few friends. He claimed that she must have made quite a reputation for herself because many people did not like her, which is victim-blaming. He alluded to fights she got into. The police released the description of this mysterious individual to the public, hoping someone knew who he was, given the small town. Unfortunately, no one knew this mystery guy or his truck. None of her friends knew any specific guy like that, just one she was talking to, a guy named JT. The following day, on Monday the 9th, there is still no sign of her. No one has seen her; she has been on social media since 5:30 the previous night. At this point, her family is really starting to panic.

The Search Continues

The police pinged Britney’s phone and found that it last pinged on Boyd-Kenedy Road. This is five miles east of Bryce’s last known sighting of her at the high school. They continue their search there; however, it is difficult due to the large rural area. In the meantime, Britney’s friends and family are doing everything they can, on their part, to find her. They are driving around looking for her. They also posted over 500 flyers in town and surrounding towns, as well as a page in her name for leads and such. Friends reach out to Bryce to hopefully get more information about her last day and possibly find her. He was acting very distraught and told them her felt guilty for leaving her. They, of course, told him not to feel guilty, that it was not his fault. Unfortunately, he had no new information to share.

On March 10, less than two days after Britney disappeared, Alivia received a text from an unknown number saying they had Britney and that if she did not send 25,000, they would feed her to their dog. Which is just absolutely horrifying as a parent, or just a civilized person. Then she received another text saying that they are being nice and do not want her, but they are a wanted drug and human trafficker. They also said that they would tell their dogs to rape her, which is beyond disturbing. They say to do what they say, but she is already on drugs, sick, and not doing well. If she does not act fast, Britney will die. Alicia calls the police immediately, and they say to quit messaging them and come to the station the next day, because that could make it worse. She woke up to messages that asked what was taking so long, and is a few bucks worth her daughter’s life? She rushed to the police station, and they began tracing the messages' location.

Finding Britney

While they are attempting to trace the messages’ location, detectives are notified that a search party that was looking for Britney found a body. They were driving around and searching an area called Burner Basin, 18 miles outside of Spring Creek, when they spotted a large amount of substance that resembled blood on the side of the road. They notice a blue tarp, lying a few feet away, covering what appears to be a body.

Detectives tell Alicia that a body was found, but not sure if it is Britney. Alicia just sat in the interview room and completely broke down. She just had a sinking feeling that it was her daughter. Mother’s intuition is strong and rarely wrong. Alicia becomes reasonably inconsolable, crying and practically passing out. The detective catches her and lays her on the ground, then crouches to the ground, holding her whilst she is just breaking down, as she is begging for someone to help her. It is just devastating to listen to and watch.

At the scene, police find drag marks and blood, leading to the body. Near the body, police find a keychain with the name Britney on it. It was clear this was Britney. She had an apparent knife wound on her neck. Her official cause of death was a stab wound to her carotid artery and strangulation. Her pants and underwear were down at her ankles, and a condom wrapper was found nearby, indicating that she was probably sexually assaulted. While searching around the area, they found a pair of earphones in a nearby bush. While inspecting the bush, they find a condom, thinking it could be the one belonging to the package near her body, they collect it for testing. They also found her cell phone a mile down the road, smashed.

The community as a whole was just devastated. Remember, this is a small town, and everyone knows everyone. The loss of Britney was felt by everyone. Bryce Dickey, her friend, posted about her horrific murder, saying, “Yesterday we all received the news that made us hit the floor. Around eight in the morning, we all started meeting up at my house to grieve and to mourn Brittany’s life, which was taken far too soon that day. I had tears of pain and joy. I wish she could have seen how many of us came together to honor you, sis. We love you so much, just know you won’t ever be forgotten”.

Investigation

At this point, the number texting Alicia came back as a spoofed number, someone just messing with the desperate mother. There are some sick people out there who think this is funny. Unfortunately, the JT lead was a dead end. They found a JT that drove a green truck, after her brother James called around asking about this guy. However, he did not know, and it was proven that he was in Alaska at the time of her disappearance. They did look into other JTs, just in case, and it was a common nickname, and found quite a few guys that went by JT. They cross-referenced them with green F-150 Green trucks and found two ranch hands, but they were not in the area at the time she disappeared, either. It was common for these ranch hands to travel from town to town for work, usually only spending a few weeks in a town. They were already gone when she disappeared.

Back at square one, they speak with her family, and Alicia tells the police about this boy she had a crush on. He had the cowboy look. They dated briefly, but he broke up with her because she would not have sex, basically. Britney was good friends with her sister after this, and they were out driving around one evening, when they got into a car accident. This boy came to the scene saying that he wished she had died in the accident, she should just end her life, and that she is a waste of space, all because she would not put out. Wow, what a red flag. On another occasion, he told her that he can’t wait until you are found raped and murdered in a desert. This was three months before she was raped and murdered. He was excluded when CCTV verified he was at work, when she would have been murdered. They put the DNA in the database to test against criminals, but received no hits.

With yet another dead end, the police decide to check more CCTV. To get to the area Britney was found in, Burner Basin, on Boyd-Kennedy Road, there is a gas station with a camera facing the road towards the high school. So they sit down and throughly watch surveillance, frame by frame. They did not see a green truck; they saw a blue Silverado. You know who drives said truck? Bryce Dickey. He drove past the school, but kept going without turning into the high school. This also destroyed Bryce’s story of the night, because this was 30 minutes after he picked up Britney from band practice, not hours like he claimed.

After learning that Bryce lied, they pinged his cell phone to compare his location that night with Britney’s. His GPS tracked him from the band practice to the place where she was found murdered. His location was tracked, notably via his Snapchat app, because he opened it at the exact spot in the desert where she was found. They also took a selfie before she was murdered, which was the last picture she uploaded to Snapchat. Detectives ask Bryce to come down to the station without telling him they found out not only that he lied but also that his location matched Britney’s. Instead, they ask for a DNA sample to eliminate him, and his idiot agrees. Because this is not an episode of CSI, they let him go home while they wait for the results. To the surprise of no one at this point, his DNA not only matches the DNA under her fingerprints, but also the condom found near her, which also had Britney’s DNA on the outside of said condom.

Questioning Bryce

This is when they ask Bryce to come back in for another interview, and he agrees. They asked him if he was ever intimate with Britney, and he denied that they ever had sex. He claimed he saw her as a little sister, nothing more. The detective wants to shut down any reasonable doubt with claims of consensual sex, so he says, “So there should not be any of your DNA associated with the murder”. Bryce still says his DNA should not be there. The detective drops the bombshell that they found a condom, and it matches his condom, and Bryce replies, saying there is no way.

So the Detective goes harder on Bryce, saying, “You’re right, Bryce, there is no way your DNA would be found inside of this condom, and Britney’s DNA would be found on the outside of the condom unless it was used and touched by both of you”. He said Britney was flirty with him, that they kissed, and she performed oral sex on him. So she refused to have sex with a boy she dated for a while, but went down on a friend that she referred to as her brother. Make it make sense.

The detective then asks for more details about how she ended up murdered. He tried to say that they messed around, and she still asked to be dropped off to see another boy. The detective told him that he expects him to believe that they had sexual interaction at the place her body was left, took her to the high school, she left with a boy, then he murdered her and left her at the exact same place where they had sex with her and left the condom. Also, your DNA is on her neck, which is where she had a fatal stab wound. He doubles down and says, “yeah I didn’t kill her, so yes, I do expect you to believe that.” He went from not knowing the boy’s real name to giving his full name. The detective was like so you knew who killed her this whole time and never spoke up? This story was obviously bullshit, so I am not going to say his name.

His story changes again, and he says Britney got back in his truck after the oral sex, they argued due to worry about ruining the friendship, and then she jumped out of his truck at a stop, after he said something that she did not like. She stormed off, then something must have happened to her. Eye Roll. He asked Bryce if he was the detective on Britney’s case and what he thought. He said he would think he was lying, so that is telling. He tried today because he is smart enough to know what they are thinking. They did not ask what they were thinking, but what he would personally think in their shoes.

Bryce’s Arrest & Trial

Bryce Dickey was arrested on March 19, 2020, for first-degree murder and sexual assault, with deadly weapon enhancements. They executed a search warrant for his home and vehicle. In his closet, they found a pair of boots, belonging to him, that had blood on them. In the boot, they found a knife, thought to be the murder weapon. In his truck’s toolbox, they found a blood-soaked sweater, which makes sense if he stabbed her carotid artery.

His Trial took place on May 9, 2022, 2 years after Britney’s murder. It was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An ex-girlfriend of his took the stand, saying he was very aggressive and choked her four times, one of the last happening on the night of Britney’s vigil. She told him every time she did not want that, and he would not listen. Mind you, he was dating someone while being fixated on Britney. The prosecution argued that Bryce assaulted Britney and murdered her to stop her from reporting the assault. After nine days of a trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour and convicted Bryce. Bryce Dickey was sentenced to life with the opportunity of parole after 20 years, for murder,20 years for each deadly weapon charge, and life with the possibility of parole after ten years for the sexual assault charge. This means after serving 70 years, he has the opportunity for parole. He will most likely never be released. He is currently serving his sentence at the Love Lock Correctional Center.

Aftermath & Motive

Although the trial is over and justice has been served, the family’s pain is not over. He has never admitted guilt, apologized, or given any explanation for the murder of Britney. He tore the family’s lives upside down. Alicia confronted Bryce at the trial, saying, ‘I believed your ridiculous lies and your story about the green truck, and you let me come and comfort you knowing you had graped and murdered my daughter. I hope the guilt eats you up inside and drives you to the complete chaos that my mind lives in.

As for the motive, even though he never shared this, it is believed that he wanted to be with her, despite having a girlfriend, and it hurt him that she did not feel the same. A Friend of Britney said that he confessed his feelings for Britney, but she told him she was flattered but did not see him that way and chose to be friends. Either way, as I said, it does not take away their pain. Her father, James, said, “There’s no justice. She’s not coming back.”

Final Thoughts

Britney’s case is just horrific and sad. I agree with the police’s theory on motive. I think he tried to put the moves on her, she turned him down, he got butthurt, raped and murdered her. Guys like him do not take it well when their egos are bruised. I like to learn from these awful cases. You should be able to tell a friend that friendship is all you want without worrying about being assaulted or murdered. He also did a good job of acting like this good guy, so I don’t think there was anything she could have done differently or any red flags, since his ex seems to be the only other person who saw a dark side. Thank you for listening to Britney’s case today.

What do you think Bryce’s motive was? I want to know your opinion, but please be respectful. Join me next time when I discuss a serial killer from Chicago. Until next time…stay curious, cautious, and safe! Ok Bye!

Sources

Oxygen

University of Las Vegas

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