Jake Haro, the California man charged in the suspected death of his seven-month-old son Emmanuel Haro, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, officials said Thursday.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Haro, 32, entered guilty pleas to one count each of murder, child endangerment and filing a false police report at a felony settlement conference on Thursday.
In a press release, the district attorney’s office noted that Haro’s guilty pleas were to the court and not a plea agreement with the office.
“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. Haro faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison,” the press release added.
Rebecca Haro, Emmanuel’s mother, is due in court on Nov. 3 for a preliminary hearing on charges of murder and filing a false police report. Jake’s sentencing has been set for the same day.
The false report charges stem from the parents’ falsified report of Emmanuel’s abduction on Aug. 14, when Rebecca, 41, claimed she was attacked in a parking lot while changing her son’s diaper and that Emmanuel was then kidnapped.
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“Authorities in San Bernardino County investigating that report found it to be false and the couple was later arrested and charged by the Riverside County DA’s Office with Emmanuel’s murder. As of this news release, the boy’s remains have not been recovered,” the district attorney’s office added.
In late August, Rebecca and Jake were both charged with murder. Prosecutors believe that the child had been dead for up to nine days before his mother reported the alleged abduction, according to court documents viewed by news affiliate KTLA.
Rebecca and Jake were arrested at their home in Cabazon on Aug. 22, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Speaking to ABC Eyewitness News in early August, Rebecca claimed she was assaulted from behind in a store parking lot in Yucaipa, Calif., near San Bernardino.
“I got him out of the car seat, and I laid him down so I could get his diapers ready, and somebody said, ‘Hola,’ and that’s all I remember. I saw white, and I fell on the floor, and as soon as I got up, I couldn’t find my son. I checked all around my truck,” Rebecca, who had a black eye, told the outlet.
Rebecca claimed she never saw her alleged attacker, and no security footage was found in the area where Emmanuel, the youngest of her six children, disappeared.
Authorities said in a statement that they later confronted Rebecca about inconsistencies in her account and that she refused to co-operate.
Authorities searched the family’s home in the Riverside County community of Cabazon. They also searched for the boy’s body near a freeway while his father, wearing a jail jumpsuit, was present. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it wouldn’t describe Jake’s presence during the search as “providing assistance.”
Jake was convicted of child cruelty in 2023 and was required to enrol in a child abuse treatment program, court records show. His lawyer in that case, Vincent Hughes, told the San Bernardino Sun that he didn’t believe the Haros were responsible for their son’s disappearance.
— With files from Global News and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
