Emmanuel Haro: California parents to face murder charges of baby
Jake and Rebecca Haro.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The parents of baby Emmanuel Haro will appear in a Riverside court on Thursday to face murder charges three weeks after they falsely reported their son – who is now presumed dead but whose body has not been found – had been kidnapped.
Murder charge
Jake and Rebecca Haro, who are currently in jail, will be formally charged with murder and filing a false police report.
Investigators believe 7-month-old Emmanuel died as early as Aug. 5, which is the last day detectives could confirm he was alive, and Aug. 14, when he was reported missing.
Defense attorneys may ask for their $1 million bail to be lowered.
The Riverside County Public Defender's Office has assigned deputy public defenders Allison Lowe and Paulette Garthwaite to represent Jake Haro. He is also facing an older charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun and ammunition, which is strictly prohibited. He was convicted in 2023 of child abuse of another one of his children and was on probation at the time of the new charge.
Rebecca Haro will be represented by private attorney Jeff Moore, who was appointed by the court.
Both Lowe and Moore have represented David and Louise Turpin, the couple convicted of abusing 12 of their 13 children in the Inland Empire.
Emmanuel Haro: Mom of missing baby sticks to her story
As the search for the body of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro continues, his mother, Rebecca Haro, maintains that her baby was kidnapped.
Kidnapping didn't occur, authorities say
Jake and Rebecca Haro were each charged with felony murder with malice on Aug. 26 in the death of their son Emmanuel, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. They were also charged with filing a false police report, which is a misdemeanor.
The Haros initially reported that their son had been kidnapped on Aug. 14, though investigators later determined that did not happen. Authorities believe the child is dead, though his remains have yet to be recovered.
Rebecca Haro told investigators that she had been attacked while changing Emmanuel's diaper in the parking lot of a store in the San Bernardino County community of Yucaipa, authorities said. She claimed that someone said "hola" to her, after which everything "went blank."
"I woke up on the floor, and my son was gone," she said in an interview last week with FOX 11.
The couple appeared on several news reports making pleas to the public to help find their son.
Over the weekend, investigators said the couple had stopped cooperating, adding that there were "inconsistencies" in the mother's story. Investigators declined to discuss what these inconsistencies were.
Emmanuel Haro: Parents of missing baby arrested in murder investigation
The parents of a missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro were arrested Friday as part of a murder investigation, authorities in Southern California said.
Arrest of Haro parents
On Aug. 22, the Haros were taken into custody on suspicion of murder at their home in Cabazon, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
Authorities searched the family's home, and over the weekend they searched for the boy's body near a freeway while his father, wearing a jail jumpsuit, was present. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it wouldn't describe Jake's presence during the search as "providing assistance," but declined to elaborate.
DA details Jake Haro's criminal history
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin detailed Jake Haro's criminal history.
Search for baby continues
The search for Emmanuel continues.
Anyone with information on this case or the whereabouts of Emmanuel are encouraged to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Homicide Detail at 909-890-4904 or submit an anonymous tip to We-Tip.