Authorities in the Inland Empire say the death of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro could have been prevented if the boy’s father had been held in prison for a previous child abuse case.
A day after the infant’s parents, Jake Haro, 32, and Rebecca Haro, 41, were charged in the child’s murder, Riverside County Dist. Atty. Michael Hestrin joined the sheriffs of Riverside and San Bernardino counties to discuss the case, which has gained notoriety among the true crime mystery crowd.
They did not provide significant details about the case, but said they believe they know where Emmanuel’s remains are located and suggested that had Jake Haro been imprisoned, Emmanuel would still be alive.
According to court records, Haro was arrested for abusing a child in 2018 during a previous marriage. He pleaded guilty in 2023 and was given jail time, probation and ordered to participate in a work release program and take classes for child batterers, records show. He was eligible for a four-year prison sentence, but the judge in the case suspended that term. He completed the required programs and submitted proof to the court in May of this year, according to the case minutes.
At the time he was sentenced, prosecutors sought prison time, Hestrin said.
Instead, the judge gave Jake Haro an “extra break,” according to Hestrin.
“I will say that it was an outrageous error in judgment by this judge. I don’t have any problems saying that,” Hestrin said. “If that judge had done his job as he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today. That’s a shame and it’s an outrage. And I hate to say that, but when our criminal justice system breaks down I’m just going to say it, it broke down.”
The Riverside County Superior Court declined to comment on Hestrin’s claims because the case is ongoing. The public defender’s office, which is representing both parents, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco echoed Hestrin’s criticism, with Dicus saying Haro was an “experienced child abuser” and Bianco saying the crime was “preventable in numerous ways.”
According to a police officer affidavit from the 2018 case, Haro claimed he dropped his baby in a sink while giving her a bath, breaking several bones. But nurses who later examined the child concluded the injuries didn’t match his story.
Hestrin said that Jake Haro’s daughter is now bedridden due to her injuries.
In the current case, investigators believe Emmanuel was severely abused for an extended period of time before his death. Authorities now have a strong lead on where to find his body, but did not disclose any additional details about the ongoing search.
Emmanuel may have died more than a week before the day he was reported missing, according to Riverside County prosecutors’ charging documents.
In the criminal complaints filed against Emmanuel’s parents, prosecutors list the potential date of death for Emmanuel as anywhere between Aug. 5 and Aug. 14, the day his mother said he vanished. The parents have been charged with one count each of murder with malice.
As the investigation has inched forward, true crime mystery fans are filling in the information gaps with rumor and speculation online. Bianco described some of the case’s followers as “social media and keyboard warriors who, quite honestly, sometimes hamper and prevent us from a good investigation.”
At Wednesday’s news conference, Hestrin shot down a claim circulating on social media that Jake Haro provided a jailhouse confession to another inmate.
“This is what happens when you’ve got all these folks out there online and these keyboard warriors, you get a lot of misinformation, and what you just said is not true,” Hestrin said. “I’m giving you information about baby Emmanuel. I’m giving you information about the cases and the investigation, but what you just said did not happen.”
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rebecca Haro said she was attacked in a Yucaipa parking lot Aug. 14 outside a Big 5 store while changing Emmanuel’s diaper. She told them that when she woke up, her child was gone. But investigators said there were inconsistencies in her initial statement, and when they confronted her about those details, they said she stopped cooperating.
In an interview with KTLA-TV before her arrest, Haro, who had a black eye, pleaded for the return of her son. “If you know anything, please come forward or take him to the cops,” she said. “Please come and bring my son back. I’m begging you.”
During the investigation, the couple surrendered their phones to investigators and allowed detectives to search their Cabazon home, said attorney Vincent Hughes, who represents Jake Haro in a separate criminal case. Investigators also took two iPads, including one that had not been taken out of the box, and three Xbox video game consoles. Their vehicle was also taken by investigators as part of the search for their son, according to Hughes.
The Haros were arrested at their home Friday. Authorities said they faked the story about a mysterious attacker who abducted their son.
“It is believed Emmanuel is deceased and the search to recover his remains is ongoing,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “While these arrests mark a significant development, our focus remains on finding Emmanuel.”
Sheriff’s investigators are now focused on finding Emmanuel’s remains. Over the weekend, search teams scoured an isolated field in Moreno Valley. They were accompanied by Jake Haro but did not find anything, officials said.
The couple is being held in lieu of $1 million bail each. They are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 4.
