Seven months after 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro was reported missing in the Inland Empire, his mother’s murder case is moving forward — and she appeared in court this week as the case heads toward trial.
Rebecca Haro, 41, of Cabazon appeared in court Thursday with her hair covering her face, maintaining the not guilty plea she has held since her arrest. The hearing comes four months after her husband, Jake Haro, 32, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for his role in the infant’s death.
The case began on August 14, 2025, when Rebecca told authorities she had been attacked and Emmanuel was kidnapped from a Big 5 parking lot in Yucaipa. According to ABC7, investigators quickly found inconsistencies in the parents’ account, which led to multiple searches of the family’s Cabazon home. Both parents were arrested on August 22, 2025.
Prosecutors allege that Emmanuel died as a result of repeated physical abuse. As of today, the infant’s remains have not been recovered.
Jake Haro pleaded guilty on October 16, 2025 to second-degree murder, assault on a child under eight causing death, and filing a false police report. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Judge Gary Polk sentenced him to 25 years to life in state prison on the child assault charge — the principal offense. He received an additional 180 days for filing a false police report, a consecutive six-year term for violating probation tied to a prior child abuse case, and an additional eight months for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and credited with 551 days for time served.
The prior case involved the abuse of the couple’s infant daughter, Carolina, in 2018. The Press Enterprise reported that Carolina suffered injuries so severe she cannot use her arms or legs and has cerebral palsy.
Assistant District Attorney Brandon Smith, who is prosecuting Rebecca’s case, said after Jake’s sentencing: “The lies told in this case only deepened the tragedy of Emmanuel’s death. While today’s sentence represents a measure of accountability for Jake Haro, our office will continue to seek justice as the case against his co-defendant moves forward.”
Rebecca Haro faces the same charges as her husband: murder, assault on a child under eight causing death, and filing a false police report. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts. Her attorney has previously taken steps to shield her from cameras in court, and court records indicate her legal team has raised objections to at least one law enforcement tactic used during the investigation.
The case drew widespread national attention in the weeks following Emmanuel’s disappearance, with community members building a makeshift memorial near the family’s home and organizing ground searches. The story also sparked a wave of coverage from social media users, some of whom broke developments ahead of traditional news outlets.
Because criminal proceedings are still active, the District Attorney’s Office has said it will not comment further on the matter at this time.
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