Bucks County pizzeria owner sentenced for killing partner, attempting to bury body in driveway
HILLTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa - Anna Maria Tolomello could spend decades behind bars for the murder of her longtime boyfriend and business partner, whose body was left in their home for nearly two weeks.
The 50-year-old pizzeria owner was sentenced to 18–40 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to third-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in April.
She admitted to the unjustified killing of 65-year-old Giovanni Gallina inside a home they shared in Hilltown Township more than two years ago. The couple also both owned and operated Pina’s Pizza in Chalfont.
Bucks County pizzeria owner pleads guilty to killing longtime partner in Chalfont home
Anna Maria Tolomello, 50, pleaded guilty Monday to the 2022 killing of her longtime boyfriend and co-owner of Pina’s Pizza, Giovanni Gallina, 65, in their Chalfont home, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
An investigation into the killing began in March 2022 after Gallina’s son told police he hadn't heard from his father. Tolomello said he was out of town and did not report him missing.
When officers arrived to search her home, authorities say Tolomello was "unprompted" as she told police she shot Gallina in self-defense."
Gallina’s body was then found wrapped in a blue tarp inside the home’s master bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Tolomello also paid someone to dig a hole in her driveway, telling them that she would fill it back in herself with a shovel, according to court documents.
"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 back in April. "Something you would see straight out of the movies, in an attempt to eliminate any evidence of his existence."
During her plea 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.