California 7-month-old baby may have been killed 9 days before alleged kidnapping

With the parents of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro formally charged with murder and filing a false police report, several new details emerged during the couple’s first appearance in a Riverside County courtroom.  

Rebecca Haro, 41, reported that she was knocked unconscious and that her child was kidnapped outside a Yucaipa Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Aug. 14. Investigators noted inconsistencies in her story and said that she and her 32-year-old husband, Jake, stopped cooperating and retained a lawyer.  

Not long after the couple became the focus of the investigation, they were arrested for suspicion of murder, with authorities saying the baby boy was presumed dead. 

Jake Haro was spotted Sunday in an orange prison jumpsuit assisting investigators in the search for the child’s remains off westbound lanes of the 60 Freeway in Moreno Valley.  

Emmanuel’s has yet to be located.  

On Tuesday afternoon, Rebecca and Jake Haro appeared in court without representation, catching many people off guard. Attorney Vincent Hughes had previously spoken on the couple’s behalf.  

“They don’t care what anyone thinks about them,” he told KTLA at the time. “They just want the child to be found. They want him home.”  

It’s unclear why Hughes no longer appears to be representing the Haros.  

Court documents on Tuesday, according to KTLA’s Gene Kang, revealed that investigators believe Emmanuel may have been dead up to nine days prior to Rebecca’s claim that he was kidnapped on Aug. 14. Prosecutors now say the child was allegedly killed sometime between then and Aug. 5. 

There are also unconfirmed reports that the 41-year-old mother was seen inside the same sporting goods store days before she told police Emmanuel was kidnapped, claiming that her vehicle had been burglarized in the parking lot and asking if there were exterior surveillance cameras on the building.  

KTLA Legal Analyst Allison Trisel said the minimum sentence for the charges the Haros are facing is life in prison without the possibility of parole, but that since the charge is murder with malice, they could be eligible for the death penalty.  

“It’s a situation where there’s torture or extreme cruelty that would qualify for the enhancement malice charge,” she said, adding that it’s unknown at this point what prosecutors will be pushing for.  

Before the couple’s arrest, it emerged that Jake had a previous felony conviction for willful child cruelty and that Rebecca’s brother is serving 50 years to life in prison for murdering his girlfriend and staging it as a suicide.  

Cameras were allowed inside Tuesday’s court appearance along with dozens of people following the case, many of them, like Catherine Fernandez, who consider themselves Emmanuel supporters.  

“My husband knows, and everyone knows I’ve been night and day thinking about this child and praying he’s found,” she told KTLA.  

The Haros’ arraignment was ultimately pushed to next, which, according to Riverside County Public Defender Brian Cosgrove, should be enough time to ensure both Jake and Rebecca are each appointed separate attorneys who will need time to learn more about the case.  

The delay also means that the public will have to wait until next to learn any potential details that investigators and prosecutors are being tight-lipped about.