Parents of Missing Baby in Southern California Charged With Murder

The 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro’s remains have not been located despite nearly two weeks of searching.

Sheriff's detectives arrested Jake and Rebecca Haro at their Cabazon, Calif., home Aug. 22, 2025, on suspicion of killing their 7-month-old son. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

The parents of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, who was reported missing earlier this month in Southern California, have been charged with murder.

The baby likely died from abuse by his parents before they made a false report that he had been abducted, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told reporters on Aug. 27.

Cabazon residents Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, and Rebecca Renee Haro, 41, were each charged with one count of murder and one count of filing a false police report, Hestrin said.

“The evidence shows that baby Emmanuel endured ongoing abuse that ultimately took his life,” Hestrin said. “Our office is committed to ensuring that justice is done for this child and that his short life is not forgotten.”

Emmanuel Haro’s remains have not yet been located despite nearly two weeks of searching Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The false report charges stem from the couple’s Aug. 14 report of their baby’s alleged abduction.

Rebecca Haro told police she was changing her baby’s diaper at about 7:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Yucaipa, California, when she was physically assaulted by an unknown man and rendered unconscious. She said she awoke with a black eye, and her baby was missing.

She stopped cooperating with police after being questioned about the disappearance.

Authorities said they found inconsistencies in the mother’s account. They searched the couple’s home in Riverside County and arrested them on Aug. 22.

Authorities said they believed the boy was dead.

Sheriff’s deputies searched for the baby’s remains in a field by a freeway over the weekend, accompanied by Jake Haro. Authorities say he cooperated with the investigation, but no body was found.

Prosecutors are planning to ask the court to introduce evidence showing one of the defendants had committed acts of abuse, even if they were not charged, to show a pattern of behavior, according to Hestrin.

Jake Haro was convicted two years ago of child cruelty to his daughter from another marriage. The incident happened in 2018, prosecutors reported. The girl suffered rib and skull fractures, a brain hemorrhage, and other injuries that caused permanent damage, Hestrin said.

He pleaded guilty in the case. The judge suspended his prison sentence, and he was ordered to serve 180 days in a work release program and probation.

“It was an outrageous error in judgment by this judge,” Hestrin said.

Travis Trapp, a spokesman for the Riverside County Superior Court, declined to comment.

Jake and Rebecca Haro are expected to be arraigned on Sept. 4 in Riverside. They remain in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.

In a jailhouse interview with the Southern California News Group on Aug. 27, Jake Haro said the district attorney’s assertion that Emmanuel was a victim of long-term abuse was “not true at all.” He also declined to provide any details on his potential role in his son’s disappearance, and said his wife is innocent.

The case remains under investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.