US4 min(s) read
Published 09:39 28 Aug 2025 GMT
The father of seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro has allegedly admitted to killing the infant whom he had previously reported as missing.
Rebecca Haro, 41, initially told police that she was changing her baby’s diaper outside a sporting goods store in Yucaipa on August 14 when she was suddenly attacked by an unknown man, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
She claimed she woke up unconscious to find her child gone.
“Please don’t hurt him,” she pleaded through tears to CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS days later, holding up a “Missing Kid” flyer. “Protect him and just bring him back to his parents that love him.”
Her husband, 32-year-old Jake Haro, also joined the emotional appeals.
“He was a healthy baby, he was crawling, he was kicking, he was playing with his toys,” he told KABC. “Whoever took our son, please give him back.”
The case drew immediate attention, with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department dedicating “all available resources” to the search.
Concerned community members gathered alongside the couple to help find Emmanuel.
But within just 24 hours, authorities began noticing inconsistencies in the Haros’ story. Despite the nationwide concern, no Amber Alert was ever issued.
“Based on the evidence, investigators determined a kidnapping in Yucaipa did not occur,” the sheriff’s department later revealed. “It is believed Emmanuel is deceased and the search to recover his remains is ongoing.”
On August 22, eight days after Rebecca’s police report, deputies arrested the couple at their Cabazon home, per the Independent.
Both were charged with murder and filing a false police report. Each is being held on $1 million bail, with arraignment set for September 4.
Video released by the sheriff’s department shows the pair in casual clothes, hands cuffed behind their backs, being led by armed deputies into police vehicles.
“The circumstances surrounding this investigation are tragic and we will continue to search for Emmanuel,” San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Shannon Dicus said. “I trust our justice system will hold the parents accountable.”
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said during a press conference that the defendants’ public plea had misled both the media and law enforcement.
“It’s appropriate to have a press conference because it was the defendants in this case who had a press conference first, and they did so in order to tell the public, the media, and ultimately law enforcement that their child had been kidnapped, when in fact that’s not what occurred,” he explained.
Authorities now believe Emmanuel had been dead for days before Rebecca made her 911 call. A criminal complaint alleges the child was killed sometime between August 5 and August 14.
The case took another turn when News Nation obtained a report indicating that Jake allegedly confessed behind bars.
According to the outlet, he told a fellow inmate - who was an informant - that he killed his baby and threw the body into a trash can at the family’s Cabazon home.
He also reportedly gave authorities a different version earlier, claiming he accidentally rolled over on Emmanuel in bed before burying him.
Despite the conflicting accounts, prosecutors maintain that forensic evidence and witness statements contradict both parents’ kidnapping story.
Attention has also turned to Jake Haro’s criminal record. He was previously convicted of child abuse in 2023, linked to a 2018 case where his infant daughter with a former partner suffered a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, broken bones and other injuries.
The child, prosecutors said, is now permanently bedridden with cerebral palsy.
Jake and his then-wife, Vanessa Avina, pleaded guilty. Court records show he was sentenced to probation, 180 days in a sheriff’s work-release program, and mandatory counseling.
While prosecutors point to mounting evidence, Rebecca Haro has no known criminal history and has continued to insist she is innocent.
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