Last Updated on October 17, 2026 by Ayoko Francisca Ahite

On August 14, 2025, Rebecca Haro reported that her 7-month-old son, Emmanuel, had disappeared from the parking lot of a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Yucaipa, California.

Rebecca claimed she was changing Emmanuel’s diaper beside her vehicle when someone attacked her and knocked her unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she said her baby was gone. She told news outlets that she searched around her truck before entering the store to ask whether anyone had seen him.

The report sparked a search for Emmanuel, while Rebecca and her husband, Jake Haro, publicly appealed for his return. However, investigators found inconsistencies in Rebecca’s account and said they could not rule out foul play. Authorities also searched the family’s home in Cabazon.

Arrests and Murder Charges

On August 22, 2025, authorities arrested Jake and Rebecca after investigators determined that the kidnapping story was fabricated. On August 26, prosecutors charged both parents with murder and filing a false police report. Bail was set at $1 million each.

At an August 27 news conference, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said investigators believed Emmanuel had suffered ongoing abuse that ultimately caused his death.

The investigation later established that Jake inflicted the fatal injuries. Prosecutors said Rebecca became aware of Emmanuel’s deteriorating condition and signs of abuse but failed to protect him or obtain necessary medical care. After his death, the couple fabricated the account of an attack and abduction in the parking lot.

Jake’s Previous Child-Abuse Case

Emmanuel’s death also brought renewed scrutiny to Jake’s criminal history. In 2023, he was convicted of willful child cruelty for a 2018 incident involving his infant daughter from a previous relationship. Authorities said the abuse left her permanently disabled and bedridden.

Despite prosecutors’ objections, the judge suspended Jake’s prison sentence and ordered him to serve 180 days in a work release program, followed by probation.

Hestrin strongly criticized that decision, arguing that Emmanuel’s death could have been prevented had Jake been sent to prison for the earlier abuse.

Jake Haro’s Guilty Plea and Sentence

On October 16, 2025, Jake pleaded guilty to charges including second-degree murder, assault on a child under eight causing death, and filing a false police report. He entered his pleas directly to the court, without a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office.

On November 3, 2025, Judge Gary Polk sentenced Jake to 25 years to life for assault on a child causing death. The court also imposed six years for his previous child-abuse case, eight months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and 180 days for filing a false police report.

The court ordered all sentences to run consecutively. The district attorney’s office subsequently described his overall sentence as approximately 32 years to life.

Rebecca Haro’s Guilty Plea and Sentence

On May 29, 2026, Rebecca pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to felony child abuse causing great bodily injury to a child under five, involuntary manslaughter, and being an accessory after the fact.

She was immediately sentenced to 12 years and eight months in state prison.

Prosecutors said her convictions reflected her failure to intervene, protect Emmanuel, or seek medical treatment, as well as her participation in concealing his death.

As of the district attorney’s May 29, 2026, announcement, Emmanuel’s remains had not been recovered.