Father Admits to Killing 7-Month-Old Son After Falsely Claiming He Was Kidnapped

In Riverside County, Jake Haro has confessed to the murder of his infant son, Emmanuel Haro, who was just seven months old.

Several weeks after falsely reporting Emmanuel as missing, Haro entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder. This admission came amid a case that initially involved claims of a kidnapping in Riverside County.

On October 16, Haro appeared in a Riverside courtroom where he shifted his plea from not guilty to guilty. Alongside the murder charge, he also admitted guilt to filing a false police report and assaulting a child under the age of eight, as confirmed by the Riverside County district attorney’s office.

His guilty plea was made independently of any formal plea deal with prosecutors.

According to the district attorney’s office, “When a defendant pleads guilty to all charges, the judge then determines the appropriate sentence.”

Haro now faces a potential prison term ranging from 25 years to life.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Haro, the child’s mother, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and remains detained. She is slated for a preliminary hearing on November 3, the same day Jake Haro is expected to be sentenced.

The couple, aged 32 and 41 respectively, were arrested in August 2025 in connection with Emmanuel’s death. Initially, they claimed the infant was abducted following an attack on Rebecca.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rebecca reported being assaulted in a Yucaipa parking lot outside a Big 5 store on August 14 while changing Emmanuel’s diaper.

However, investigators found discrepancies in her account. When confronted, she ceased cooperating with authorities.

The parents were taken into custody at their residence in Cabazon about a week after reporting their son missing.

During the early stages of the investigation, search teams combed through a remote field in Moreno Valley, accompanied by Haro, who was dressed in jail attire. Despite extensive efforts, Emmanuel’s body has yet to be discovered.

While the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department initially led the inquiry, the formal charges were filed in Riverside County.

When questioned about the ongoing search for Emmanuel’s remains, Riverside County officials stated that San Bernardino authorities continue to oversee the investigation. However, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department deferred all inquiries to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.

The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit that offered a monetary reward early in the search, has expressed frustration over the lack of updates regarding Emmanuel’s case and the search for his remains.

The foundation described Haro’s guilty plea as “a crucial step toward justice,” but emphasized that the case remains unresolved.

Founder Daniel Chapin remarked, “True justice for Emmanuel cannot be achieved until his remains are found.”

He added, “Our mission now focuses on locating Emmanuel and advocating for ‘Emmanuel’s Law’ to prevent other children from slipping through systemic gaps.”

As the investigation progressed, suspicion expanded from the mother to both parents after it was revealed that Jake Haro had a prior child abuse conviction.

In 2018, Haro and his then-wife were questioned by Hemet police following a hospital examination of their infant daughter, who suffered multiple injuries including a skull fracture, healing rib fractures, brain hemorrhage, neck swelling, and a healing tibia fracture, according to a police affidavit supporting an arrest warrant.

A medical professional who examined the child reported severe injuries such as intracranial hemorrhage, brain trauma, cervical spine damage, and retinal hemorrhages.

Haro claimed the injuries resulted from accidentally dropping the baby onto a kitchen sink divider during bath time, but medical findings contradicted this explanation.

The couple blamed each other for the child’s injuries, as detailed in the officer’s affidavit. In 2023, Haro was convicted of felony willful child endangerment, while his then-wife was found guilty of misdemeanor willful harm to a child, according to court records.

Following the report of Emmanuel’s disappearance, Riverside County authorities removed a two-year-old child from the Haro household as a precautionary measure.