Anna Maria Tolomello, a Pennsylvania pizza shop owner, pleaded guilty on Monday to the killing of her business partner Giovanni Gallina. The two were common law partners and co-owners of Pina’s Pizzeria in Chalfont before Gallina’s death in 2022.
Tolomello, 50, from Hilltown Township, admitted to shooting Gallina on March 16, 2022, and then keeping his body wrapped in a tarp and comforter in her bedroom for several days. She initially claimed self-defense but later changed her plea after an autopsy revealed that Gallina had been shot in the back of the head.
Police were informed by a witness that Tolomello had asked for help digging a hole in her yard to bury something. The witness then worked with the police to assist, and while digging, Tolomello was recorded saying that Gallina was “away.” However, Gallina’s body was eventually discovered inside the house during a police search.
Tolomello also confessed to disposing of incriminating evidence such as a bloody mattress and bullet shell casings. Originally facing charges of murder, possession of an instrument of a crime, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence, Tolomello will now spend between 18 and 40 years in state prison as part of her guilty plea. Sentencing has been postponed for 60 days.
