Honoring Cindy

Justice for the Giambalvos — Protecting Families in the Future

On September 18, 2025, Joseph and Cindy Giambalvo’s quiet Arroyo Grande home became the site of a tragedy that could have been prevented.

That night, their former neighbor, Fritz Schnoor—long known for his obsession with harming the Giambalvos—broke into their home and attacked them in their sleep. Cindy, 74, lost her life, and Joseph suffered serious stab wounds. Miraculously, Joseph survived and is now back home recovering.

For years, the Giambalvos lived in fear. Schnoor had broken into their home in 2017, forcing them to add security including cameras, and other measures to protect their home. They renewed the restraining order several times, but the system failed them. Their restraining order expired without notice to the Giambalvos and Schnoor was released several times from mental hold facilities without the Giambalvos ever being notified. Despite his repeated threats to kill them, the County never informed them of the danger they were in.

As their daughter Laura shared:

“They thought they were safe. They did everything they could to protect themselves. My dad is healing, but this is going to be a long, hard road. We are so thankful for the community support—but we also want to make sure no other family has to go through this.”

Why We Are Raising Funds

While the criminal case will proceed through the courts, Joseph and his family are seeking civil attorneys to fight for two things:

1. Justice for Cindy and Joseph — holding accountable those whose failures allowed this preventable tragedy.

2. Create the, Cindy’s Law — to create mandatory notification requirements so that families like the Giambalvos are warned when dangerous individuals are released or when protective orders expire.

Your donations will help cover the cost of skilled civil attorneys who can not only stand with the Giambalvo’s in their fight, but also work to ensure no other family is left unprotected and uninformed.

How You Can Help

This campaign is about more than one family. It is about protecting all families in San Luis Obispo County and beyond from systemic failures.

Your contribution will go toward:

• Civil attorney fees for the Giambalvos

• Cindy’s Law-Legal advocacy to push for victim-notification laws

Every donation—large or small—moves us closer to justice, accountability, and lasting change.

If you cannot donate, please share this campaign widely. Together, we can honor Cindy’s memory by ensuring her death sparks change that saves others.

Thank you for standing with the Giambalvo family.