April 08, 2024
BILL OXFORD/UNSPLASH
Anna Maria Tolomello, 50, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the March 2022 shooting of Giovanni Gallina, her partner and co-owner of the former Pina's Pizza in Chalfont.
The former owner of a Chalfont pizza shop pleaded guilty Monday to killing her business and romantic partner two years ago and hiding his body while she plotted a way to bury him in their yard, prosecutors said.
Anna Maria Tolomello, 50, entered the plea on what was expected to be the first day of her trial, for which a jury had already been seated. She previously confessed to shooting 65-year-old Giovanni Gallina in the head in March 2022, prosecutors said. They shared a home together and co-owned Pina's Pizza, which has since shut down.
For nearly two weeks after Tolomello shot Gallina, his family and friends grew alarmed because they couldn't reach him. His son reported him missing. Tolomello, who had told Gallina's family he was away on business, refused to help with the investigation.
But when authorities executed a search warrant at the couple's home, according to a criminal complaint, Tolomello told investigators she knew why they were there. She initially told investigators she shot Gallina in self-defense because he had been strangling her, but police found no evidence to support her claims. Gallina's body was found wrapped in a blue tarp inside their bedroom, authorities said. Tolomello said she had disposed of a blood-soaked mattress in the dumpster at the pizza shop.
Three days after the shooting, Tolomello hired a contractor to bring an excavator to her property and dig a hole seven feet long, three feet wide and three feet deep, prosecutors said. Tolomello didn't tell the contractor why she needed the work done, but said she would take care of refilling the hole. The contractor was the brother of a local police officer and agreed to have his conversations with Tolomello recorded, prosecutors said.
Authorities have not shared a suspected motive for the shooting.
Tolomello originally was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and possession of an instrument of a crime. The plea agreement reached Monday — with the support of Gallina's family — was for third-degree murder. Her sentencing is June 25, with a negotiated term expected to fall between 18 and 40 years in prison.
