Pa. Pizza Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Killing Her Longtime Romantic Partner, Hiding Body in Their Home
Anna Maria Tolomello pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse
Bucks County District Attorney's Office; Go Fund Me
Anna Maria Tolomello, left, and Giovanni GallinaA former Pennsylvania pizza shop owner who was accused of fatally shooting her longtime partner two years ago and leaving his body in their home for more than a week has pleaded guilty, authorities said.
On April 8, Anna Maria Tolomello pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of her common-law husband, 65-year-old Giovanni Gallina, according to a press release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. Her trial was expected to start the same day.
Prosecutors said Tolomello admitted her March 2022 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. The two owned Pina’s Pizza in Chalfont, Pa.
According to a criminal complaint previously reviewed by PEOPLE, Tolomello also hired a contractor to dig a hole in their driveway, where she planned to bury Gallina and pave over his body.
The complaint states she contacted the contractor three days after the slaying of Gallina, and asked for a hole seven-feet long, three-feet wide and three-feet deep. Around the same time, she asked a friend for "any tricks" to get rid of a skunk odor from her garage, according to the complaint.
Police began investigating Gallina's disappearance on March 29, 2022 after his son, who lives in Italy, reported him missing. Their daily WhatsApp text conversations had ceased, and he hadn't heard from his father since mid-March.
Tolomello told Gallina’s son that his father was out of town and was “away on business,” the complaint states. Additionally, workers at the pizzeria told police that Gallina had not been around in a while. According to the complaint, Tollomello never reported Gallina missing to any law enforcement agency.
It wasn’t until investigators spoke to the contractor on March 29, 2022, that the contractor told them Tolomello reached out over text on March 19, 2022, asking to dig a hole in her driveway “to bury one or more items,” the complaint states. After the contractor dug the hole, Tolomello met the contractor at the pizzeria and paid $350 for the work.
When investigators executed a search warrant on the home, she admitted that she shot Gallina but said she acted in self-defense after he tried to strangle her on the bed, according to the complaint. However, prosecutors said in the April 8 press release that Gallina was shot in the back of the head.
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During the search, authorities found Gallina wrapped in blue tarp and a comforter in the master bedroom, the complaint states. His head was covered in a black plastic garbage bag. Tolomello said at the time that she cleaned up after the murder and tossed the bloody mattress in a dumpster behind the pizzeria.
Tolomello is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.
On a GoFundMe campaign created following Gallina's death, his loved ones said he was a father of three children and grandfather of two boys.
"[Gallina] was a funny, kind-hearted and good person all around," the organizer wrote.
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