The fatal stabbing of an elderly Arroyo Grande resident by a man with a criminal past sparked calls for legislation that would create mandatory requirements to notify survivors when their perpetrators are released or when protective orders expire.
“The system failed my parents,” victim Cindy Giambalvos’ stepdaughter, Laura Giambalvos, said. “They should have been told that Fritz had gotten out three days before all this.”
On Sept. 18, 35-year-old Fritz Schnoor of Oceano allegedly broke into the Arroyo Grande home of Cindy and Joseph Giambalvos and stabbed them with a knife. Cindy was stabbed once in the back and succumbed to her wound in the hospital a few hours later. Joseph survived 10 stab wounds and is recovering at home.
With the help of Grover Beach police, Pismo Beach police, and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, the Arroyo Grande Police Department located and arrested Schnoor. He remains in custody without bail.
On Sept. 22, the District Attorney’s Office charged Schnoor with eight felony charges, including ones for murder, attempted murder, inflicting grave bodily injury on a person older than 70, and first-degree burglary. A mental competency hearing for Schnoor took place on Sept. 23.
This wasn’t Schnoor’s first run-in with the law.
In 2011, he was charged with trespassing and taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent. A treatment review hearing took place during that case.
In 2014, a woman in Santa Margarita successfully filed a restraining order against Schnoor for herself and her family.
“Fritz visited our business and acted strange,” she wrote in the restraining order request. “He told a friend of ours that he was planning on raping and killing [the applicant] and now is out of jail and is trying to contact [the applicant’s sister] on her computer.”
In 2017, the Giambalvoses also successfully filed a restraining order against him after Schnoor climbed onto their roof at 5:30 a.m. and threw a brick through their sliding glass door. After entering their home, he took their laptop. Police intervened and removed him from the house.
Their restraining order request said that police also found a knife outside and that Schnoor’s case worker confirmed to them after evaluating him that he intended to harm the couple. The judge granted the restraining order request to last less than a month.
Since then, Schnoor’s faced a series of misdemeanor charges, a mental competency trial, and was in LPS conservatorship. Many of those court documents are sealed. An LPS conservatorship gives legal authority to an adult to make serious decisions for a seriously mentally unwell person. The conservator also has the authority to place them in a state hospital or psychiatric treatment facility involuntarily.
Now, the Giambalvoses want accountability from officials. Laura started a GoFundMe campaign for $20,000 to help with the creation of Cindy’s Law. With the donations, she hopes to pay for attorneys who can assist with her proposal to set up mandatory notification requirements. As of Oct. 1, her GoFundMe campaign had $19,801.
She told New Times that Schnoor was released from Atascadero State Hospital three days before he attacked her parents, but the county and other officials never informed them about his release.
“I know there is a mental health crisis across the U.S., across the world, probably. But when things like this happen, it’s a big sign that something needs to change,” Laura said. “They should have been warned. They vacation a lot. My dad said, ‘If we felt that he threatened our lives, we would have left.’”
The DA’s Office, the county, Arroyo Grande city officials, and Schnoor’s former attorney told New Times they couldn’t confirm whether he was admitted to Atascadero State Hospital.
Fourth District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said notification should have taken place, adding that he couldn’t comment further “without all the facts” because he didn’t know whose custody Schnoor was in.
Paulding told New Times that state Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) was in talks with the Giambalvoses about the creation of Cindy’s Law.
“We don’t need the money, but if there’s not a consequence, it’s going to happen again,” Laura said. “When we find out who failed my parents, we’re going to sue them. Any money from that will go to Cal Poly scholarships in Cindy’s name because she worked there.” ∆
This article appears in Oct 2 – 12, 2025.