Topline: The father of a missing 7-month-old spoke with a reporter from jail as the district attorney blamed a judge’s prior ruling for the child’s death.
Published: August 29, 2025 8:00 am ET
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Left, Emmanuel Haro, right, parents Rebecca and Jake Haro (via San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)
RIVERSIDE, CA — The father of a missing 7-month-old infant, Jake Haro, spoke from jail about his son’s disappearance, while the district attorney criticized a judge from a previous case involving Haro.
Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, face formal charges of murder and filing a false police report in connection with the disappearance of their son, Emmanuel Haro.
Prosecutors believe the boy, presumed dead, could have been killed as early as August 5, nine days before his mother told police her son had been kidnapped. Rebecca Haro said a stranger knocked her unconscious in the parking lot of a sporting goods store on August 14.
According to The Orange County Register, the 45-minute interview was held over a video hookup with Jake Haro at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He admitted his attorney advised him to avoid the press, saying that while he wanted to talk about Emmanuel’s disappearance, he could not.
Jake Haro called Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin’s assertion that the boy was the victim of repeated abuse untrue and spoke about his prior felony conviction. He was arrested in 2018 in Hemet for willful child cruelty involving his daughter, Carolina, while married to another woman.
The 32-year-old claims he accidentally dropped his 10-week-old daughter on a sink divider during her bath. When the girl’s mother took her to the hospital later that night, doctors found a skull fracture, fractured ribs, a brain hemorrhage, and other serious injuries, according to The Register.
Jake Haro said he wanted to take the case to trial but could not afford it, and that his 2023 guilty plea was a financial decision because a judge told him no one would believe his story.
“Somehow, they magically convinced me to take this damn plea deal,” he said during the interview. “I was sick of court. The judge knows I didn’t do it. They just railroaded me. I was the fall guy.”
During a news conference Wednesday, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin chastised the judge in the 2023 case. Hestrin called Jake Haro’s suspended four-year sentence, 180 days in a sheriff’s work-release program and an order to attend child-abuse treatment an “outrageous” error in judgment.
“I don’t have a problem saying that,” Hestrin added. “If that judge had done his job, which he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today.”
During the jailhouse interview, Jake Haro also told the reporter his wife is innocent. Rebecca Haro is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
“The media is killing her,” he said. “She is a beautiful woman. She loves her children.”
The 41-year-old mother continues to maintain her innocence in the baby’s alleged murder. Jake Haro is reportedly hoping enough money can be raised to release her from custody until the trial.
“God is with us. The allegations are horrendous, so of course, people are going to be riled up,” he told the reporter during the interview.
According to NewsNation, a report emerged that Jake Haro confessed to killing Emmanuel to an undercover informant posing as a fellow inmate. He allegedly placed the child’s body in a trash can at the couple’s Cabazon residence.
The child remains missing despite Jake Haro being spotted with investigators searching for the child’s remains on Sunday in the Moreno Valley. However, at the Wednesday morning press conference, DA Hestrin indicated authorities have a strong idea of where the child’s remains are located.
Jake and Rebecca Haro are each being held on $1 million bail. They are scheduled to appear in court again next week.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Jailhouse Interview: Jake Haro Speaks Out as DA Condemns Judge
The father of a missing 7-month-old spoke with a reporter from jail as the district attorney blamed a judge’s prior ruling for the child’s death.
By Kate Byrd
Published: August 29, 2025 8:00 am ET
Left, Emmanuel Haro, right, parents Rebecca and Jake Haro (via San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)
RIVERSIDE, CA — The father of a missing 7-month-old infant, Jake Haro, spoke from jail about his son’s disappearance, while the district attorney criticized a judge from a previous case involving Haro.
Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, face formal charges of murder and filing a false police report in connection with the disappearance of their son, Emmanuel Haro.
Prosecutors believe the boy, presumed dead, could have been killed as early as August 5, nine days before his mother told police her son had been kidnapped. Rebecca Haro said a stranger knocked her unconscious in the parking lot of a sporting goods store on August 14.
According to The Orange County Register, the 45-minute interview was held over a video hookup with Jake Haro at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He admitted his attorney advised him to avoid the press, saying that while he wanted to talk about Emmanuel’s disappearance, he could not.
Jake Haro called Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin’s assertion that the boy was the victim of repeated abuse untrue and spoke about his prior felony conviction. He was arrested in 2018 in Hemet for willful child cruelty involving his daughter, Carolina, while married to another woman.
The 32-year-old claims he accidentally dropped his 10-week-old daughter on a sink divider during her bath. When the girl’s mother took her to the hospital later that night, doctors found a skull fracture, fractured ribs, a brain hemorrhage, and other serious injuries, according to The Register.
Jake Haro said he wanted to take the case to trial but could not afford it, and that his 2023 guilty plea was a financial decision because a judge told him no one would believe his story.
“Somehow, they magically convinced me to take this damn plea deal,” he said during the interview. “I was sick of court. The judge knows I didn’t do it. They just railroaded me. I was the fall guy.”
During a news conference Wednesday, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin chastised the judge in the 2023 case. Hestrin called Jake Haro’s suspended four-year sentence, 180 days in a sheriff’s work-release program and an order to attend child-abuse treatment an “outrageous” error in judgment.
“I don’t have a problem saying that,” Hestrin added. “If that judge had done his job, which he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today.”
During the jailhouse interview, Jake Haro also told the reporter his wife is innocent. Rebecca Haro is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
“The media is killing her,” he said. “She is a beautiful woman. She loves her children.”
The 41-year-old mother continues to maintain her innocence in the baby’s alleged murder. Jake Haro is reportedly hoping enough money can be raised to release her from custody until the trial.
“God is with us. The allegations are horrendous, so of course, people are going to be riled up,” he told the reporter during the interview.
According to NewsNation, a report emerged that Jake Haro confessed to killing Emmanuel to an undercover informant posing as a fellow inmate. He allegedly placed the child’s body in a trash can at the couple’s Cabazon residence.
The child remains missing despite Jake Haro being spotted with investigators searching for the child’s remains on Sunday in the Moreno Valley. However, at the Wednesday morning press conference, DA Hestrin indicated authorities have a strong idea of where the child’s remains are located.
Jake and Rebecca Haro are each being held on $1 million bail. They are scheduled to appear in court again next week.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Latest Articles
Jailhouse Interview: Jake Haro Speaks Out as DA Condemns Judge
The father of a missing 7-month-old spoke with a reporter from jail as the district attorney blamed a judge’s prior ruling for the child’s death.
By Kate Byrd
Published: August 29, 2025 8:00 am ET
Left, Emmanuel Haro, right, parents Rebecca and Jake Haro (via San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)
RIVERSIDE, CA — The father of a missing 7-month-old infant, Jake Haro, spoke from jail about his son’s disappearance, while the district attorney criticized a judge from a previous case involving Haro.
Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, face formal charges of murder and filing a false police report in connection with the disappearance of their son, Emmanuel Haro.
Prosecutors believe the boy, presumed dead, could have been killed as early as August 5, nine days before his mother told police her son had been kidnapped. Rebecca Haro said a stranger knocked her unconscious in the parking lot of a sporting goods store on August 14.
According to The Orange County Register, the 45-minute interview was held over a video hookup with Jake Haro at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He admitted his attorney advised him to avoid the press, saying that while he wanted to talk about Emmanuel’s disappearance, he could not.
Jake Haro called Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin’s assertion that the boy was the victim of repeated abuse untrue and spoke about his prior felony conviction. He was arrested in 2018 in Hemet for willful child cruelty involving his daughter, Carolina, while married to another woman.
The 32-year-old claims he accidentally dropped his 10-week-old daughter on a sink divider during her bath. When the girl’s mother took her to the hospital later that night, doctors found a skull fracture, fractured ribs, a brain hemorrhage, and other serious injuries, according to The Register.
Jake Haro said he wanted to take the case to trial but could not afford it, and that his 2023 guilty plea was a financial decision because a judge told him no one would believe his story.
“Somehow, they magically convinced me to take this damn plea deal,” he said during the interview. “I was sick of court. The judge knows I didn’t do it. They just railroaded me. I was the fall guy.”
During a news conference Wednesday, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin chastised the judge in the 2023 case. Hestrin called Jake Haro’s suspended four-year sentence, 180 days in a sheriff’s work-release program and an order to attend child-abuse treatment an “outrageous” error in judgment.
“I don’t have a problem saying that,” Hestrin added. “If that judge had done his job, which he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today.”
During the jailhouse interview, Jake Haro also told the reporter his wife is innocent. Rebecca Haro is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
“The media is killing her,” he said. “She is a beautiful woman. She loves her children.”
The 41-year-old mother continues to maintain her innocence in the baby’s alleged murder. Jake Haro is reportedly hoping enough money can be raised to release her from custody until the trial.
“God is with us. The allegations are horrendous, so of course, people are going to be riled up,” he told the reporter during the interview.
According to NewsNation, a report emerged that Jake Haro confessed to killing Emmanuel to an undercover informant posing as a fellow inmate. He allegedly placed the child’s body in a trash can at the couple’s Cabazon residence.
The child remains missing despite Jake Haro being spotted with investigators searching for the child’s remains on Sunday in the Moreno Valley. However, at the Wednesday morning press conference, DA Hestrin indicated authorities have a strong idea of where the child’s remains are located.
Jake and Rebecca Haro are each being held on $1 million bail. They are scheduled to appear in court again next week.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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