Police Have 'Strong Indication' Of Where Baby Emmanuel's Remains Are Located

CABAZON, CA — Missing baby Emmanuel Haro was a victim of deadly child abuse, and investigators believe they know where his body is, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announced together at a news conference on Wednesday.

"We have a strong indication on where the remains of baby Emmanuel are at this time," Hestrin said. Both of Emmanuel's parents have been charged with his murder.

"This was preventable, and Jake Haro was an experienced child abuser who should have been in prison," added Bianco, referring to a previous child endangerment conviction by the baby's father. The failed judgment against Jake Haro has become the cornerstone of Hesterin's case, the DA said

Prosecutors and investigators also acknowledged the national media frenzy surrounding the case and urged the public to let justice take its course.

All evidence will be presented in court, Hestrin added, saying he would not try this case in the court of public opinion.

Bianco took social media "keyboard warriors" to task, saying that "they hamper more than they help."

Read also: History Of Child Abuse Cornerstone Of DA’s Murder Case

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department held the joint news briefing regarding the murder charges filed weeks after the disappearance of Emmanuel, who was seven months old.

Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, and Rebecca Renee Haro, 41, both of Cabazon, were arrested on suspicion of murder with malice last week at their home about a week after they reported the child had been kidnapped at a shopping center.

Along with murder, the defendants were also charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The search for the missing baby's remains continued this week in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Over the weekend, Jake Haro led detectives through a Moreno Valley field in a remote area of Riverside County.

Tuesday afternoon, both defendants arrived at the Riverside Hall of Justice to face Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary Polk. Polk appointed the same public defender for both parents, setting their joint arraignment for September 4 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Jake Haro is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning; his wife, Rebecca, is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

The infant was first reported missing in the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa on the evening of Aug. 14. His mother told deputies she was changing Emmanuel's diaper in their white SUV when she heard a voice. She said she turned around only to be punched and knocked out at the scene. When she awoke outside her vehicle at the Yucaipa Big 5 sporting goods store, her baby was gone, she told detectives.

"As soon as I got up, I couldn't find my son," she said. "I checked all around my truck."

She said she went inside the store, asking if anyone had seen her baby. A large group of supporters arrived to help search, but investigators soon after stated that they had uncovered "inconsistencies in Haro's initial statement." At that point, she halted any voluntary discussion with law enforcement.

On Aug. 18, San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives served multiple search warrants at the Haro home. K9 units, believed to be cadaver dogs, searched the property and the barn. Officers then informed the public that they obtained a significant amount of surveillance video from areas of interest for review, according to the agency.

Jake Haro sought the counsel of an attorney after his wife ended her cooperation with the investigation, according to reports. That attorney, Vincent Hughes, had represented him in a 2018 child abuse case involving another child he had with his former partner, identified as Vanessa Avina. He admitted to child endangerment and was placed on four years of felony probation.

Jake Haro pleaded guilty in 2023 to one count of child cruelty and was later sentenced to four years' probation and was ordered to serve 180 days in jail on the work release program. The court suspended six years in prison as part of his plea, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

He was arrested again in July 2024 in Banning on suspicion of illegal possession of a loaded firearm. That case has not been resolved.

Court documents also revealed that Haro's former spouse filed a domestic violence restraining order against him on Aug. 19, and the request sought to protect that couple's son.

"Jake has a criminal past," Hughes told the Los Angeles Times during his brief stint as Jake Haro's attorney this month. "We're not running from that, but the facts of that case are a lot different than the facts of this case. And one crime doesn't mean that you've committed every other crime known to man."

Since that time, Hughes has declined to comment on Jake Haro and this investigation.

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

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History Of Child Abuse Cornerstone Of DA’s Murder Case