Emmanuel Haro's mother pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to more than 12 years
Rebecca Haro, the mother of 7-month-old Emmanuel, who went missing in August 2025, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection to his death and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
Rebecca pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and being an accessory to murder after the fact, under a plea agreement. She was sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison.
Rebecca and her husband, Jake Haro, were arrested in August 2025, after San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigators determined that claims that their infant son Emmanuel was kidnapped outside of a Big 5 store in Yucaipa on August 14 were false.
Jake, 32, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, child assault and filing a false police report on October 16. In November 2025, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Rebecca's preliminary hearing was supposed to determine whether she would stand trial on a felony count of murder and for filing a false police report. In March, she had a settlement conference where she chose to go to trial.
Initially, Rebecca told authorities she was changing her son's diaper when she was punched in the eye and when she came to, Emmanuel was gone.
During their investigation, SBSD officials determined there were "inconsistencies" in Rebecca's story, which she relayed via an on-air interview with CBS LA. After investigators confronted her, she stopped giving interviews.
Authorities served a search warrant at the couple's home on August 18. Investigators said that they recovered a "large amount of surveillance video" from the area for review at the time.
On August 22, just eight days after they said Emmanuel was missing, Jake and Rebecca Haro were taken into custody at their home in Cabazon, at which point investigators said the couple's account of the events leading to their son's disappearance didn't add up. They were both charged with murder on August 26.
Jake was arrested and charged in 2024 for illegal possession of a loaded firearm and probation violations. As the investigation continued, CBS News Los Angeles learned that his ex-wife had filed a domestic violence restraining order against him with a request to protect a child they shared.
He also pleaded directly to a Riverside County court in 2023 on a child cruelty charge. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin commented on the ruling after Haro's August arrest, stating that "if the judge had done his job, Emmanuel would be alive today."
Emanuel's remains have not yet been found.
