Joseph and Cynthia Giambalvo lived in their home on Victoria Way in Arroyo Grande for decades before an attack last Thursday left Cynthia dead and John with serious injuries.
Fritz Schnoor is accused of breaking into the Giambalvo home and stabbing the couple multiple times as they slept.
The victims’ daughter, Laura Giambalvo, says her dad is back home and the community’s compassion has been overwhelming.
“The outpouring of support is amazing,” she said. “He's healing really well. You know, this is going to be a long, hard road for him but I am just so thankful and grateful that all the people that are here.”
Court records show that Schnoor, 35, has a criminal history in San Luis Obispo County dating back to 2011.
One of those crimes was breaking into the Giambalvo home in 2017, when he lived across the street from the couple.
Laura says her parents lived in fear of Schnoor, filed a restraining order against him, and added more security around the house.
“They had all the windows in the entire house changed. They've got a driveway dinger, little spikes… along the fence line. He raised his fence. He did all these things so that Fritz couldn't come back,” she said of her father’s security measures, which also included surveillance cameras around the house. “They thought that they were safe.”
On Tuesday morning, Schnoor appeared in court facing murder, attempted murder and burglary charges. A judge declared doubt in Schnoor’s ability to understand the charges against him.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow says Schnoor has a history of mental illness.
“We're going to work very hard to uncover all the relevant details, including possible mental health history, possible mental illness that may have been a factor in this case,” Dow said.
Laura says she and her father do not want Cynthia’s death to be in vain. They want to change the law around restraining orders. She says her parents were not aware that the one they filed against Schnoor had expired.
“We'd like to see some policies change to where either restraining orders aren't for such a short amount of time, or that the victim themselves get to decide when that restraining order needs to be lifted,” Laura said.
Schnoor is set to appear in court again on October 21. He is in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, being held without bail.
