Father receives 25 years to life in connection with death of 7-month-old son

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The father of a 7-month-old boy who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after the child went missing in Southern California was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday.

According to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside County, Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, of Cabazon, California, was sentenced by Judge Gary Polk at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Haro pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to the murder charge, along with one count each of assault on a child under eight causing death, and filing a false police report.

Haro must also serve an additional six years for a previous child abuse case and another eight months for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also must pay $10,000 in restitution, the court ruled.

Haro and his wife, Rebecca Rene Haro, 41, falsely reported that their son, Emmanuel Haro, had been kidnapped outside a store in San Bernardino County on Aug. 14, prosecutors said.

Rebecca Haro told authorities that she was attacked while changing her son’s diaper and was left unconscious. Authorities said Rebecca Haro told them that when she awoke, her son was gone.

The boy’s body has not been found and he is presumed to be dead.

Rebecca Haro has pleaded not guilty to charges of filing a false report and is scheduled to appear at a felony settlement conference on Jan. 21, 2026.

The Haros were arrested on Aug. 22 when investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department determined the couple had fabricated their claims of the boy’s abduction.

Prosecutors argued that evidence showed Emmanuel died due to multiple acts of abuse and that the repeated assaults led to the boy’s death.

“Forensically, there are a number of things that we were able to prove up,” Riverside County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. “There is a tremendous amount of evidence that suggests the initial story posed was not the correct story.”

“The lies told in this case only deepened the tragedy of Emmanuel’s death,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement. “While today’s sentence represents a measure of accountability for Jake Haro, our office will continue to seek justice as the case against his co-defendant moves forward.”

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