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The mysterious disappearance of Gabrielle Britney Ujlaky on March 8, 2020, led investigators from the Elko County Sheriff’s Department to believe that the missing complaint was a runaway case. However, physical evidence from the crime scene indicated Britney's long-time friend, Bryce Dickey, to be the real perpetrator.
The investigation turned Dickey's claims false as the physical evidence recovered from the scene matched his DNA. The revelation was too shocking for Gabrielle Britney Ujlaky's parents as their daughter considered Dickey a big brother.
The upcoming Dateline NBC episode, Open Desert, chronicles Britney Ujlaky's disappearance and murder on December 7, 2023, at 10 pm EST on NBC.
Five shocking details about Gabrielle Britney Ujlaky's murder
1) Gabrielle Britney Ujlaky considered Bryce Dickey to be a big brother to her
Britney Ujlaky met Bryce Dickey at a local radio competition after which the two remained friends for five long years. Britney's mother, Alisha Tolhurst Ujlaky, and her friend Cheyenne Frey spoke to PEOPLE saying Britney considered Bryce to be her big brother.
Her childhood friend Saquarra Ashby said,
“She would say that he was like one of her closest friends and she cared about him a lot, but besides that she didn’t really talk about him.”
The day Britney went missing, she had attended her father James Ujlaky's band rehearsal near Angel Park after which she was supposed to be dropped home by Dickey. Britney's parents had met Bryce a couple of times and assured the courtroom that he was not their daughter's boyfriend during his trial.
2) A used condom and a pair of blood-stained boots were found at the crime scene
The crime scene at Burner Basin came with two crucial pieces of physical evidence - a blood-stained pair of boots and a used condom containing the DNA of both Britney and a male. The DNA sample from the scene was matched with Bryce's swab and the boots were also traced back to him.
Further reports from the Elko Free Press stated that the police recovered a knife and a blood-stained sweatshirt from his truck’s toolbox.
3) Bryce Dickey reportedly gave the investigators a false lead
As Bryce Dickey was the last person Gabrielle Britney Ujlaky was spotted with, officers from the Elko County Sheriff's Department spoke with him and received a tip about a "pretty tall" man wearing a cowboy hat who owned a green Ford F-150 pickup truck. He said the truck had a toolbox in the trunk and Nevada plates.
The police had set up an information line with the man's description but noted inconsistencies in his statements with the aid of video surveillance footage they collected.
4) Dickey claimed Ujlaky and he had consensual sex before she disappeared
Bryce Dickey allegedly admitted to sharing a sexual relationship with Britney after having denied the same initially. He told the investigators that Britney and he had intercourse the day she went missing. However, an autopsy revealed that Britney had been raped and suffocated. Her body was found wrapped in blue tarpaulin.
Alisha Ujlaky spoke to Oxygen saying,
“My daughter was a damn virgin — there was not a consensual thing about it.”
5) Elko County Judge Mason Simons added 50 years to Bryce Dickey's sentence
Bryce Dickey was sentenced to 20 years for s*xually assaulting and killing the Spring Creek teenager on May 23, 2022. Judge Mason Simons, however, extended the sentence by adding 50 years on August 10, 2022, and removed the possibility of parole after 20 years. He was found guilty of the crime on March 15, 2020.
He was initially sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. However, Britney Ujlacky's family pleaded with the judge to impose a maximum sentence saying,
“I am pleading with you not to make me face this monster again in my lifetime for ridiculous parole hearings. Please, please allow my family a real shot at healing instead of having wounds ripped wide open again, and facing him to keep him behind bars where he belongs.”
Bryce Dickey is presently serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center as per records of the Nevada Department of Corrections.
