The parents of missing baby Emmanuel Haro have pleaded not guilty to the seven-month-old boy’s murder.
Jake Haro, 32, and Rebecca Haro, 41, were formally charged last week regarding the suspected death of their infant. They appeared in shackles for their arraignment at Riverside County Superior Court, just outside of Los Angeles, on Thursday.
During the brief six-minute hearing, the California couple avoided eye contact and exhibited minimal emotion as they entered pleas through their attorneys.
Both individuals will remain in custody with bonds set at $1 million each. Their next court appearance is scheduled for September 17. If found guilty, they may face the death penalty.
According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Rebecca is being kept in protective custody. She remained silent during the hearing, while Jake, dressed in a red prison uniform, greeted the judge with a ‘good morning’.
The couple have been accused of lying about their young son’s disappearance after they pleaded on television for help finding their child.
Rebecca claimed her son was taken while she was attacked from behind close to a Big 5 retail store in Yucaipa on August 14.
She told police she regained consciousness with a black eye and no memory of what had happened, before realizing her son was missing.
However, inconsistencies in her narrative led authorities to conclude there was no kidnapping. Instead, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office suspects Emmanuel is deceased.
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
Rebecca Haro, 41, officially faces charges of one count of murder with malice, alongside making a false police report, classified as a misdemeanor. She is depicted in court in August.
Her husband, Jake Haro, is facing the same charges. He is pictured in court in August
Court documents obtained by KTLA suggest investigators believe Emmanuel may have even been dead up to nine days before Rebecca claimed he was abducted.
Prosecutors have previously said questions about the couple’s story emerged when witnesses said they saw Rebecca with a black eye the day before the attack.
Police confronted her about the inconsistencies with her story, but Rebecca refused to continue speaking with investigators or take a lie detector test.
Meanwhile, it emerged that a two-year-old child was also removed from the couple’s care for unknown reasons as Jake’s violent past came to light.
He was convicted of felony willful child cruelty in June 2023 after he was arrested in Hemet, California, on October 12, 2018.
Jake was jailed for 180 days and is still working through his 48 months on probation with a 72-month suspended sentence, according to Riverside County Superior Court records.
Jake and Rebecca each face a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, but since the charge is murder with malice, they may be eligible for the death penalty
The couple were arrested from their home in Cabazon on Friday morning
He was also required to attend a child abuser treatment program.
Multiple people familiar with the crime said his relationship with the child’s mother didn’t end well and that he beat the child so badly she suffered a brain injury and multiple broken bones.
Jake claimed he was giving his baby girl a bath in the kitchen sink and accidentally dropped her, but a doctor’s report said the girl’s injuries did not fit that narrative.
He was also previously acquitted of illegally owning a gun and ammunition as a convicted felon.
As the investigation continued, police seized Jake’s car and analyzed digital and electronic evidence.
The couple were then arrested from their home in Cabazon, when Jake was seen walking barefoot while his wife wore shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals.
Rebecca Haro’s attorney walks outside Riverside Superior Court
Jake was seen on Sunday helping deputies scour an area off the 60 Freeway in Moreno Valley for his son’s remains, which have not yet been recovered
Police blocked off the street as they searched the Haro home for clues about the missing boy
Rebecca kept her head low and avoided eye contact with the cameras as she was loaded into the back of a police car.
Still, the mother-of-two insists she is telling the truth about her missing son – saying she wants to be allowed to go free so she can search for him.
‘I will not give up. I will not give up on my baby,’ she told the Orange County Register.
Rebecca also insisted she had a great relationship with her husband and ‘he’s a good dad’. ‘He would never hurt a baby,’ despite his child abuse conviction, she said.
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’.
Hughes also wrote off the inconsistencies in Rebecca’s story as a result of her being so overcome with emotions about her missing son.
Police were seen sifting through garbage at the house for any evidence connected to the case
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.
They each face a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, but since the charge is murder with malice, Jake and Rebecca may be eligible for the death penalty.
