The father of a missing California infant, accused of murdering the child, had previously abused his baby daughter so severely that she developed cerebral palsy, a prosecutor has revealed.
Jake Haro, 32, and Rebecca Haro, 41, are charged with murder and accused of deceit regarding their seven-month-old son, Emmanuel. They made a public plea on television, asking local residents for help in locating their child.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin disclosed on Wednesday that Jake had a prior conviction for willful child cruelty from 2018.
Hestrin said the incident involved his then 10-week-old daughter Carla who he had with a different woman.
Carla survived but is permanently bedridden and suffers from cerebral palsy as a direct result of his abuse, Hestrin said.
‘This is severe abuse for an infant. Someone who does that to a child belongs in prison. Period’, he added.
Court papers say one of the doctors who examined the child later said her ‘condition could have been fatal if medical attention was not sought’.
Hestrin explained that in 2023, Jake reached an agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to a single count of willful child neglect, resulting in a suspended sentence.
Jake Haro beat his baby daughter Clara so badly she is permanently bedridden and suffers from cerebral palsy as a direct result of his abuse
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin revealed on Wednesday that Jake had previously been convicted for willful child cruelty in 2018
Hestrin recounted the baby’s severe injuries, noting she had fractured ribs, a partial skull fracture, a brain hemorrhage, soft tissue swelling in the neck, and a tibia fracture in her right leg.
He slammed the decision to strike a deal, saying: ‘That decision was absolutely outrageous.
The District Attorney stated, ‘Mr. Haro should have been in prison at the time this crime occurred, and if the judge had fulfilled his duty properly, Emmanuel would be alive today.’
The couple was arrested following a raid on their home and were taken into custody without incident last week.
They were charged with murdering the boy as police believe the kidnapping never happened.
The arrests came after police seized a car belonging to Jake earlier in the week and police analyzed digital and electronic evidence.
Rebecca claimed she was attacked from behind in front of a Big 5 retail store in Yucaipa, California, on August 14.
She told police she regained consciousness with a black eye and no memory of what had happened and realized her son was gone.
Shocking court documents suggest Emmanuel Haro, a seven-month-old, may have been dead for up to nine days before his mother reported him missing
The couple were arrested from their home in Cabazon on Friday morning
But inconsistencies began to emerge in her story, and police grew skeptical of the abduction, changing the case to a missing child instead.
Some witnesses said they saw Rebecca with a black eye last week – one day before the alleged attack.
When police confronted Rebecca with inconsistencies in her story about Emmanuel’s abduction, she refused to continue speaking to investigators.
Newly-unsealed court documents obtained by KTLA suggest investigators now believe Emmanuel may have even been dead up to nine days before Rebecca claimed he was abducted.
The couple were originally defended in their claims by Vincent Hughes, an attorney who is representing Jake in the child abuse case.
He told the LA Times that Rebecca and Jake ‘just want their son back’ and ‘want people to put in the same effort they’re using to question them to go out and search for Emmanuel’.
Rebecca claimed she was attacked from behind in front of a Big 5 retail store in Yucaipa, California, on August 14
Hughes also wrote off the inconsistencies in Rebecca’s story as a result of her being so overcome with emotions about her missing son.
As proof that the couple is trying to work with authorities, Hughes noted that the couple voluntarily surrendered their phones to police and allowed detectives to search their home, when two iPads – including one that had never been taken out of the box – and three Xbox video game consoles were seized.
Jake was also seen on Sunday with police as they searched an area off the 60 Freeway in Moreno Valley for Emmanuel’s body.
The baby’s father was dressed in an orange jumpsuit as they scoured the remote field. The search turned up nothing and the infant’s body is yet to be found.
The couple is being held on $1 million bail each. They are scheduled to be arraigned next week.
