Father Pleads Guilty to Killing His 7-Month-Old Son After Claiming He Was Kidnapped

 

A heartbreaking twist has emerged in the case of missing baby Emmanuel Haro, as his father, Jake Haro, has pleaded guilty to the child’s murder in Riverside County, California. The shocking development comes weeks after Haro and his wife falsely claimed their 7-month-old son had been kidnapped.

Haro, 32, appeared in court on Thursday, October 16, where he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on multiple charges, including second-degree murder, filing a false police report, and assault of a child under 8. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, his plea was made directly to the court and not part of a plea bargain.

“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 DA’s office explained.

Haro now faces 25 years to life in prison.

The case dates back to August 2025, when Jake and his wife, Rebecca Haro, reported their infant son missing, claiming that an assailant had attacked Rebecca while she was changing Emmanuel’s diaper outside a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Yucaipa. Authorities initially launched a massive search operation, but inconsistencies in the mother’s statement led investigators to doubt their story.

Within a week, both parents were arrested at their home in Cabazon. Despite extensive searches in Moreno Valley, baby Emmanuel’s remains have not been found.

Rebecca Haro, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murder and remains in custody. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 3, where Jake Haro will also be sentenced.

The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, which had offered a reward for information during the search, criticized the lack of updates from law enforcement, emphasizing that justice remains incomplete until Emmanuel’s remains are recovered.

“Justice for Emmanuel is incomplete until his remains are recovered,” said Daniel Chapin, the foundation’s founder. “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.”

Further investigation revealed that Jake Haro had a disturbing history of child abuse. In 2018, he was convicted of felony willful child endangerment after a previous child suffered multiple injuries, including a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage. His then-wife was also convicted of misdemeanor willful harm to a child.

Following the couple’s arrest in 2025, authorities removed another child — a 2-year-old — from their home for safety reasons.

While Haro’s guilty plea brings a measure of closure, questions remain about how the system failed to prevent this tragedy and what more can be done to protect vulnerable children in similar situations.