Bucks County pizzeria owner pleads guilty to killing longtime partner in Chalfont home
HILLTOWN TWP., Pa. - A 50-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday to killing her longtime partner two years ago in their home in Chalfont.
Anna Maria Tolomello, 50, appeared before a Bucks County judge Monday and entered a guilty plea to third-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
Back in March 2022, Tolomello was charged with shooting and killing 65-year-old Giovanni Gallina, her longtime boyfriend and business partner, while inside a home they shared in the Chalfont section of Hilltown Township.
Both Tolomello and Gallina owned and operated Pina’s Pizza in Chalfont.
Bucks County pizzeria owner charged with murder in partner’s death
Anna Maria Tolomello has been charged with murder in the death of her partner, Giovanni Gallina. Authorities say Gallina's body was found in a home they shared, wrapped up in a tarp. The two owned Pina's Pizza in New Britain.
Authorities say their investigation began when Gallina’s son informed them that he had not heard from his father since March 16. Tolomello had said Gallina was out of town and did not report him missing, authorities say.
Police met Tolomello at her home on Tuesday to execute a search warrant. At that time, authorities say she told officers that she knew why they were at her home and ‘unprompted, told police she shot Gallina in self-defense.’
Tolomello then allegedly told investigators that the body was ‘wrapped up’ in a bedroom and that she had shot him once in the head with a handgun back on March 16.
According to court documents, Tolomello also paid someone to dig a hole in her driveway, telling them that she would fill it back in herself with a shovel.
Officers searched the home and found Gallina’s body wrapped in a blue tarp inside the home’s master bedroom. He was found to have a single gunshot wound to the head.
"We have pretty good evidence that the defendant was going to dispose of Mr. Gallina's body in a highly inappropriate way," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said at the time. "Something you would see straight out the movies, in an attempt to eliminate any evidence of his existence."
During Monday's hearing, Tolomello admitted her killing of Gallina was unjustified, that she left his body in their home for 13 days, and that she disposed of evidence related to his murder.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25.