The father of seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro, whose disappearance in August launched a frantic search across Southern California, has admitted to killing his son after weeks of claiming the infant had been kidnapped.
Jake Haro, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm to a child ‘resulting in the death of said child,’ and filing a false police report, according to court records.
He cried in court as he entered his plea, changing it from not guilty to guilty on all counts.
‘In a plea to the court, a defendant enters guilty pleas to all charged counts and the judge in the case determines the sentence a defendant will serve,’ the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Haro now faces 25 years to life in prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for November 3 – the same day his wife, 41-year-old Rebecca Haro, is due in court for a preliminary hearing after pleading not guilty to an amended complaint.
Officials have not yet disclosed the details of that complaint, according to KABC.
The harrowing case began on August 14, when Rebecca reported being attacked outside a retail store on Yucaipa Boulevard while changing her son’s diaper.
Jake Haro (pictured), 32, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm to a child ‘resulting in the death of said child,’ and filing a false police report
The father of seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro (pictured) whose disappearance in August launched a frantic search across Southern California, admitted to the murder of his son after weeks of claiming the infant had been kidnapped
Emmanuel was reported missing on August 14 after his mother, Rebecca Haro, reported being knocked unconscious by an unknown man only to find her infant son missing, triggered an extensive search for the missing infant. Pictured: San Bernardino County investigators conducting a search operation at home of missing baby
She told deputies she was knocked unconscious by an unknown man and awoke with a black eye to find her son missing, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said.
The report triggered an extensive search for the missing infant.
But, investigators soon uncovered inconsistencies in her story and when confronted, she stopped cooperating, leading detectives to suspect foul play.
About a week later, on August 22, baby Emmanuel’s parents were arrested at their home in Cabazon and charged with murder.
Search teams later scoured an isolated field in Moreno Valley – 27 miles from Cabazon – with Jake in custody and present, but no trace of the baby was found.
Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin said investigators had ‘a pretty strong indication’ of where Emmanuel’s remains might be and that the child had been ‘severely abused over a period of time.’
However, authorities have not yet located the seven-month-old’s remains.
About a week after Emmanuel’s reported disappearance, baby Emmanuel’s parents were arrested at their home in Cabazon and charged with murder
Haro faces 25 years to life in prison. Pictured: Jake Haro arrested at his Cabazon home and booked into custody
Prior to their arrest, the parents (pictured) pleaded with the public to find their child
‘The filing in this case reflects our belief that baby Emmanuel was abused over time and that eventually because of that abuse, he succumbed to those injuries,’ Hestrin added.
Hestrin also described Haro as an ‘experienced child abuser,’ noting that he ‘should have gone to prison’ after a 2018 conviction for abusing another child with his ex-wife.
Instead, Haro received probation – a decision Hestrin called ‘an outrageous error in judgment.’
Authorities said the child in that case remains bedridden due to the injuries.
‘If that judge had done his job as he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today,’ Hestrin said.
The 2018 case involved a baby girl who was hospitalized with a skull fracture, multiple healing rib fractures, brain hemorrhages, and other injuries, according to police records.
Haro claimed he accidentally dropped the baby while bathing her, but doctors said the explanation was inconsistent with the severity of the injuries.
When Emmanuel was reported missing in August, Riverside County authorities removed a 2-year-old child from the Haros’ home.
San Bernardino County investigators searched the family’s home for the missing baby
Search teams later scoured an isolated field in Moreno Valley – 27 miles from Cabazon – with Jake (pictured in orange jumpsuit) in custody and present, but no trace of the baby was found
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit that offered a reward early in the search, criticized the lack of updates from law enforcement about Emmanuel’s remains.
The group’s founder, Daniel Chapin, said in a statement that Jake’s guilty plea was a ‘necessary step toward accountability’ but that ‘justice for Emmanuel is incomplete until his remains are recovered.’
‘Our fight now centers on recovering Emmanuel and enacting ‘Emmanuel’s Law’ to protect other children from falling through the cracks of a broken system,’ Chapin said.
Officials said the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department continues to lead the search for Emmanuel’s remains, while the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is overseeing the criminal case.
