The cowboy traditions of Nevada bring families together regularly in Elko County, with competitive rodeo events and traditional ranch get-togethers taking place most weekends.
Like many other teenagers in the community, Gabrielle Ujlaky, who was known as Britney, had grown up with a passion for riding horses. But rather than having an interest in the spotlight of the sporting arena, she was happiest doing daily chores on a local ranch.
The 16-year-old was a cowgirl, always the first into the saddle to round up the livestock. But she was also a typical teenage girl who loved experimenting with make-up. She loved to pick flowers to cheer people up and she was always trying to make her friends laugh.
Britney had spoken to her family about joining the navy and studying counselling, so that she could help people in the military who suffered with mental health issues. They were confident that she had a bright future ahead of her.
On 8 March 2020, Britney watched her dad James practising with his band near Angel Park. She was there with Bryce Dickey, 18, a friend she affectionately called her “big brother”.
Dickey had been welcomed into Britney’s family after they’d met through the rodeo community and he was known as a “shy cowboy”. Britney told her dad Dickey was giving her a lift home and the family trusted the polite youngster to drive safely.
“I’ll beat you home,” Britney told her dad.
But when he arrived a few hours later, she wasn’t there. James called her mobile and there was no answer. He then sent her a text asking, “Why aren’t you answering my calls?” Eventually, Britney was reported missing and the police spoke to Dickey about her last movements.
Dickey said they’d driven around for a few hours, then Britney asked to be dropped at Spring Creek High School to meet a “new friend”.
He said he’d seen her get in a green Ford F-150 pick-up with a “pretty tall” man in a cowboy hat. Who was this mysterious cowboy? And where was Britney?
At first, investigators thought Britney had run away with the unnamed man. It was unlike her but going on her best friend’s report, police asked the public to look out for the green truck and set up an information line.
Dickey also showed officers Snapchat messages he’d sent to Britney, asking if she was OK. There had been no reply.
Then, three days later, on 11 March, the partially clothed body of a young girl was found wrapped in blue tarpaulin and dumped in Burner Basin, a remote desert in the area. It was Britney. She’d been raped and stabbed in the neck. A used condom was found near her body.
The community was devastated. Taking to social media to mourn the death of his “sis”, Dickey wrote: “Yesterday, we all received news that made us hit the floor.
"Around 8 in the morning we all started meeting up at my house to grieve and to mourn Britney’s life. Which was taken far too soon.
“That day I had tears of pain and joy. I wish she could have seen the amount of us that came together to honor you sis. We love you so much. Just know you won’t ever be forgotten.”
Britney’s parents held a memorial and released balloons. Her mum, Alisha, knew how close Dickey was to her daughter and comforted him.
However, the police were growing suspicious – did Dickey know more than he was letting on? Some of his statements contradicted earlier comments.
He agreed to give a sample of his DNA, which was tested against the suspect’s DNA found in the used condom at the crime scene, which also had Britney’s DNA on it. It was a match to Dickey – and his DNA was also found under Britney’s fingernails.
When confronted with the new evidence, Dickey said he and Britney had consensual sex the day she vanished. But at his home, police found a pair of blood-stained boots
Dickey was arrested and charged with murder and sexual assault.
Britney’s loved ones were in disbelief. She had treated Dickey like a brother and trusted him without question. He’d lied to move suspicion away from him, while staying close to them as they grieved.
At the trial this year, Dickey’s defence said nothing linked him to the murder beyond reasonable doubt and the evidence was all circumstantial. But the prosecution was quick to point out there are rarely eyewitnesses to murder.
“I want you to think about whether crimes like murder and sexual assault are crimes often committed in front of other people,” they asked the jury. “That wouldn’t be very smart.”
One of Dickey’s ex-girlfriends took the stand, too, and testified that he had choked her at least four times during their 18-month relationship.
In May, after four hours of deliberation, the jury found Dickey, now 20, guilty of first-degree murder and sexual assault with a deadly weapon.
Shortly afterwards, he was sentenced and Britney’s family got their chance to speak. Alisha said her daughter was a “bright, beautiful light”, adding, “The past two years have been surviving, not living. Our lives have been very dark and chaotic without our Britney in them.”,
Alisha also confronted Dickey about the day when she’d comforted him at Britney’s memorial.
“I believed your ridiculous lies and your story about the green truck, and you let me come and comfort you, knowing you had raped and murdered my daughter,” she told him.
“I hope the guilt eats you up inside and drives you to the complete chaos that my mind lives in.”
James said his daughter had been his best friend. “From her birth, we were inseparable. She was the epitome of daddy’s little girl,” he said tearfully.
He also admitted he can no longer watch father-daughter films, as they make him cry. And he pointed out that Dickey hadn’t shown any remorse for what he’d done – or any grief over the death of the friend he had called “sis”.
Dickey was sentenced to life in prison for murder with a deadly weapon, with the possibility of parole in 20 years. Later this year, he will face another sentencing for the sexual assault charge.
But the torment will go on for Britney’s family, knowing her promising life was cruelly snuffed out by the “big brother” they had welcomed into their fold.
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