Baby Emmanuel Haro murder case marks one year since kidnapping report this week

CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ) - One year after seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro was falsely reported kidnapped in Cabazon, both of his parents are serving prison sentences while the search for the infant's remains continues.

The child's father, Jacob Haro, was sentenced to 25 years to life plus six years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse. His mother, Rebecca Haro, was sentenced to 12 years and eight months after pleading guilty to child abuse and being an accessory. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department maintains an active search for Emmanuel's remains, which have not been recovered.

The case began on Aug. 14 when Haro told deputies that a man knocked her unconscious in a parking lot while she was changing her baby's diaper and kidnapped the infant.

“I got up off the floor and I didn't see my child. Someone took him from me,” Haro said.

Detectives noted inconsistencies and shifting details in her account before she stopped speaking with law enforcement.

The investigation subsequently centered on the couple's rented house in Cabazon. Court records revealed Haro had previously been convicted of felony child cruelty in 2023 involving a 10-week-old daughter from a prior relationship who was left permanently disabled. A judge sentenced him to probation in that case rather than prison.

Prosecutors stated that Emmanuel suffered abuse throughout his life and died between Aug. 5 and Aug. 14. Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin criticized the previous judicial decision to grant probation, stating that Emmanuel would still be alive if proper action had been taken.

Haro pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and making a false report, receiving his sentence on Nov. 3. In May, Haro entered her guilty plea to child abuse causing great bodily injury and being an accessory on the day of her preliminary hearing. Although Haro messaged reporters from the California Men's Colony prison, he has never disclosed where his son's remains are located.

Emmanuel would turn 2 years old this December. A lawsuit was recently filed against Riverside County on behalf of Emmanuel's 3-year-old sister by the law firm associated with families in the Turpin case. The complaint states that in June 2024, before Emmanuel was born, the county's child abuse hotline received a neglect report after police found a gun in Haro's purse, which violated Haro's probation. According to the complaint, county staff recorded that Haro had zero prior abuse investigations, scored the family as low risk and did not open a case.

The search for Emmanuel's remains remains active and authorities ask anyone with information to contact police.