(This story was updated with new information.)
A woman accused of helping her husband cover up the murder of their 7-month-old son, Emmanuel Haro, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday, May 29, to 12 years and eight months in prison.
Rebecca Renee Haro entered the plea under an agreement with Riverside County prosecutors.
Prosecutors said her husband, Jake Haro, killed the infant after repeated physical abuse. While Rebecca Haro did not personally hit Emmanuel, she failed to report what her husband did, never got medical help for her child, then — after Emmanuel’s death — falsely reported to police that he’d been kidnapped in a store parking lot, the district attorney’s office said Friday.
Jake Haro was sentenced in November to 32 years to life in prison for murder, assault on a child resulting in death, filing a false police report and an unrelated previous crime. On Friday, Rebecca Haro pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felony child abuse and accessory after the fact.
“Rebecca Haro’s plea and sentence today reflect her sins of parental omission,” Assistant District Attorney Brandon Smith said in a statement. “Her choice not to intervene was a choice to allow, if not facilitate, Emmanuel’s death. This defendant had a legal and moral responsibility as Emmanuel’s mother. She catastrophically failed in that duty.”
The Haros became the focus of national media attention when they first said Emmanuel had been kidnapped on Aug. 14, 2025. Rebecca Haro, 41, told sheriff’s deputies she was knocked unconscious near a Yucaipa shopping center while changing her baby’s diaper. When she came to, she said, the boy was gone.
Police said they identified discrepancies in her account and she and Jake Haro were arrested Aug. 22.
While authorities have said they believe they know the area where Emmanuel’s body is, he has never been found, prosecutors said Friday, more than nine months after he was reported missing.
Desert Sun staff contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Mother pleads guilty in death of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro
Reporting by City News Service / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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