logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
22m 47s

Talking Dateline: Open Desert

NBC NEWS
About this episode

Andrea Canning talks to Josh Mankiewicz about his episode, “Open Desert.” On March 8, 2020, 16-year-old Britney Ujlaky told her dad she was leaving a park to meet up with a friend. She never came home. Her partially-clothed body was found three days later in the Nevada desert. Detectives investigated multiple potential suspects before they turned their attention to the last person to see Britney alive. Josh and Andrea discuss Britney’s strong relationship with her father, Jim Ujlaky, and the blackmail scheme that gave her family false hope after she disappeared. Later, Josh shares a podcast-exclusive clip from his interview with Jim about his first impressions of the killer. Plus, Dateline producer Ann Preisman joins the conversation to share her experience making the episode and to answer viewer and listener questions from social media.

 

Listen to the full episode of “Open Desert” on Apple: https://apple.co/3ZD8uRI

Listen to the full episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2TsAqez4bG3bmKKbz31Yhg

Up next
Yesterday
A verdict in Texas. Inside Sean Combs’ sentencing. Plus, a look at a looming execution.
In Texas, a verdict in the trial of the woman prosecutors say poisoned her fifth husband. In Manhattan, Sean Combs is sentenced to more than four years in prison by a federal judge. Updates in the Karina Cooper, Ghislane Maxwell, and Brian Walshe cases. Plus, Lester Holt joins us ... Show More
27m 16s
Oct 8
Talking Dateline: The Bucket Hat Mystery
Blayne Alexander talks with Keith Morrison about his episode, “The Bucket Hat Mystery.” In 2022, acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara was found shot inside his Hawaii clinic. The investigation into his death revealed a complicated story of love, jealousy, and control that eventually led to ... Show More
23m 31s
Oct 7
The Bucket Hat Mystery
When acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara is shot dead in his clinic, investigators uncover a tangled love life and several persons of interest -- until security video reveals an unexpected suspect. Keith Morrison reports.Blayne Alexander and Keith Morrison go behind the scenes of the maki ... Show More
1h 22m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
Living with a Stranger
On March 18, 2010, Jamie Laiaddee vanished from her home in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. Her live-in boyfriend Bryan Stewart told everyone she had moved to Denver, Colorado to take a new job. When detectives started searching for Jamie, they discovered Bryan was a con man, and s ... Show More
48m 32s
Apr 2025
The Murder of Melody Starr Derosia Waters (New Hampshire)
She was ready to reinvent her life and just one flight stood between her and a new beginning… But when that plane took off, the 19-year-old expectant mother wasn’t on board. Three months later, her family learned the devastating truth. A suspect confessed to the killing soon afte ... Show More
40m 30s
Sep 11
UPDATE: The Murder of Charline Rosemond (Massachusetts)
When we first covered the case of Charline Rosemond on Dark Downeast back in January of 2025, her murder was still unsolved. But a few months after the release of the episode, that finally changed. A suspect has since been indicted. So, we’re rereleasing the original episode cove ... Show More
40m 8s
Jul 10
A verdict in Kentucky's "trial of the decade." Snapchat messages on the stand. Plus, Josh Mankiewicz drops by.
In Kentucky, emotions ran high as the jury returned a verdict in the Crystal Rogers murder case a decade after she disappeared. In Iowa, Snapchat messages take center stage at the trial of a woman accused of murdering her husband. Closing arguments in the murder trial of MLB pitc ... Show More
28m 14s
Sep 9
Introducing: Deadly Engagement
Hey Dateline fans! As a bonus for you, we’re sharing the trailer for Deadly Engagement an all-new original podcast series from Dateline and Josh Mankiewicz. It’s the story of Denita Smith, a promising young photographer with a bright future and engagement ring from a man she love ... Show More
2m 41s
Sep 7
Teen Cowgirl Murdered by her 'Big Brother'?
Nevada, 2020:The body of a missing 16 year old teenage girl has just been found in the desert. Her name was Britney Ujlaky, and she was Spring Creek’s Rodeo Queen, a small-town, known for having little to no crime.But now, a police hunt was underway for Britney’s killer. A killer ... Show More
51m 37s
Jun 2023
EP18: Dismembered in the Desert
When 15-year-old Mary Vincent stuck her thumb out along the side of a road in Berkley, California, her hope was to hitch a ride away from her strict parents towards a new beginning. Mary was positively thrilled when a grandfatherly looking man in a truck pulled up beside her and ... Show More
1h 15m
Sep 9
Post Mortem | The Game Show and the Killer
48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty and producer Stephanie Slifer discuss their exclusive interview with the former “Family Feud” contestant, Tim Bliefnick, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his estranged wife, Becky Bliefnick. This episode last aired on 10/3 ... Show More
35m 56s
Mar 2025
‘Slender Man’ attacker seeking release in teen’s stabbing; Judge accused of shooting wife awaits fate - TCN Sidebar
In this episode of True Crime News The Sidebar Podcast: Beth Karas joins host Joshua Ritter to break down the biggest cases making headlines across the nation. They discuss the delayed release of ‘Slender Man’ assailant Morgan Geyser as mounting concerns force a judge to rethink ... Show More
33m 36s