Father pleads guilty to murder of missing 7-month-old son in Southern California

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The father of a 7-month-old boy missing in Southern California pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of his son after a monthslong investigation that has failed to locate the child's remains.

Jake Haro on Thursday also pleaded guilty to assault on a child under 8 that results in death, paralysis or a comatose state, and a misdemeanor count of filing a false report.

Haro, 32, and his wife Rebecca Haro, 41, attracted national attention this summer after reporting their son Emmanuel Haro had been kidnapped outside a store in San Bernardino County on Aug. 14.

Rebecca Haro told authorities that she was attacked outside a store in the community of Yucaipa while changing her son’s diaper and was left unconscious. Authorities said Haro told them that when she awoke, her son was gone.

Rebecca Haro was later confronted by authorities about inconsistencies in her account and refused to continue to cooperate, the sheriff’s department said.

A week after reporting their son missing, authorities arrested both parents as part of a murder investigation.

The couple was charged with the murder of Emmanuel Haro and making a false report. They’ve each been held on $1 million bail.

“Based on the evidence, investigators determined a kidnapping in Yucaipa did not occur,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said after their Aug. 22 arrest. “The search to recover his remains is ongoing.”

Prosecutors have said they believe the boy died from abuse.

In 2023, Jake Haro pleaded guilty in open court to abusing another one of his children in 2018. The girl suffered rib and skull fractures, a brain hemorrhage and other injuries.

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said the prosecution asked the judge to sentence Haro to prison at that time, but instead he was allowed to serve 180 days of work release, plus probation.