Couple Accused Of Killing Baby Emmanuel Heads To Court This Week

CABAZON, CA — A Cabazon couple accused in the death of their 7-month-old toddler, now missing for three weeks, are due back in court Thursday for arraignment on murder and other charges.

Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, and Rebecca Rene Haro, 41, were arrested last month following a multi-agency investigation into the disappearance of baby Emmanuel.

Along with murder, both are charged with filing a false police report.

They made their initial joint court appearance on Aug. 26, when Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary Polk appointed them a public defender and scheduled their arraignment for Sept. 4 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Each defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and is being held in Riverside County jails: Jake Haro at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, Rebecca Haro at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

The Law Office of the Public Defender, Brian Cosgrove, will represent Jake Haro. That office declared a conflict with representing Rebecca Haro. She will instead be represented by the conflict panel, a group of lawyers in private practice who are assigned to criminal cases when the public defender has a conflict of interest. It was not immediately clear what the nature of that conflict was.

The story of the missing baby has held the Inland Empire captive since late August. Last week, the District Attorney's Office appealed for all "patience" in the release of details tied to the case.

"We understand how deeply the community and media care about baby Emmanuel and are eager for information," the D.A.'s office stated. "However, there has been a significant amount of misinformation circulating in the media and on social media, which can be confusing and frustrating for everyone. Spreading false information or rushing to conclusions can unintentionally hinder the investigation and impact court proceedings."

D.A. Mike Hestrin said in a news briefing on Aug. 27 "abuse over time" caused the baby's death. "We believe Emmanuel was severely abused ... and because of the abuse, he succumbed to those injuries," he said. The evidence they have of ongoing child abuse of baby Emmanuel was not disclosed, and the infant's body has still not been found.

The couple was arrested on Aug. 22 following a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigation.

In a jailhouse interview with one news outlet, Jake Haro denied any involvement in the infant's vanishing, insisting he was cooperating with investigators.

"There was forensic data from the crime scene," San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said last week. "That's how we learned the jurisdiction where this crime occurred (Riverside County). Forensically, there were a number of things we were able to prove up."

He did not disclose specifics.

Hestrin said the tot's death was preventable, blaming a failure in the criminal justice system that enabled Jake Haro to remain free on probation after pleading guilty in a prior child abuse case involving his ex-wife and another infant, Carolina.

In 2023, Haro admitted a child cruelty charge, but made his plea directly to the court, avoiding negotiations with prosecutors. Hestrin said the prosecution had wanted prison for the defendant's extensive abuse of the girl, which resulted in multiple broken ribs, a fractured skull, and a brain hemorrhage, leaving her permanently bedridden.

"It was an outrageous error in judgment by this judge," Hestrin said. "If that judge had done his job, Emmanuel would be alive today."

The judge, on assignment from San Bernardino County, was not named in the court register online.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department personnel were examining potential body dump sites along the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway in the Badlands two weeks ago, without success.

Emmanuel was reported missing in the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa on the evening of Aug. 14.

Rebecca Haro told deputies she'd been assaulted while standing near her vehicle, changing Emmanuel's diaper outside a Big 5 store. The defendant suggested she was knocked out and that the assailant fled with the tot.

On Aug. 18, San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives served search warrants at the defendants' Ramona Street property, and "a large amount of surveillance video" was obtained from areas of interest for review, according to the agency.

Jake Haro was arrested and charged last year in Banning with illegal possession of a loaded firearm, as well as probation violations. That case hasn't been resolved.

Court documents also revealed that Haro's former spouse filed a domestic violence restraining order against him with a request to protect the couple's son.

Rebecca Haro has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.