29°
Anna Maria Tolomello was arraigned Wednesday, March 30, on charges of homicide, abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, and related offenses in the death of Giovanni Gallina, 65, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said. The couple owned Pina’s Pizza in Chalfont.
Tolomello wrapped Gallina's body in a blue tarp inside their Limekiln Pike home in the Chalfont section of Hilltown Township after shooting him in the head in what she claimed was self-defense after he strangled her, according to a criminal complaint.
Police found Gallina's body in a master bedroom during a warranted search on Tuesday, March 30, after his son reported not hearing from his dad since Wednesday, March 16, they said.
Tolomello claimed she shot Gallina once in the head 13 days earlier on Wednesday, March 16, authorities said. She had told others that Gallina was out of town since then and had never reported him missing to the police.
Tollomello even hired someone to dig a 7-foot-long, 3-foot-wide, 3-foot-deep hole in their driveway to bury Gallina, according to a criminal complaint. She didn't explain why she needed the hole dug; all she said was that she needed to bury one or more items, the complaint states.
Tollomello told the person she hired that she would fill the hole up herself and have it covered, court papers show. She also asked another person if they had "any tricks" regarding a skunk in her garage, including whether a certain store sold incense.
She later admitted to cleaning blood, wiping down the.38 caliber revolver she used, and attempting to mask the odor of Gallina's decomposing body, as well as planning to pave over the hole, the complaint states.
Gallina was a dad of three and grandfather of two, according to a GoFundMe page launched for his funeral expenses.
He was remembered on the fundraiser as a "funny, kind-hearted and good person all around."
More than $1,300 had been raised on the page as of Thursday, March 31.
The Bucks County Coroner's Office is expected to conduct an autopsy.
A judge ordered Tolomello held in lieu of bail at the Bucks County Correctional Facility. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 19.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Gettysburg and receive free news updates.
