Jake Haro, the father of missing baby Emanuel, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of his seven-month-old son, whose shocking disappearance sparked an army of online detectives.
Harrow, 32, initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his tune and pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to murder, assault on a child under 8 causing death and filing a false police report, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
He and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, reported their son was kidnapped after being attacked in a Yucaipa parking lot on Aug. 14. But detectives soon discovered holes in their story and charged the parents with murder.
On Monday, Harrow was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for murder and 180 days in prison for making a false police report.
Prosecutors said because he committed the crimes while on probation, he must also serve a six-year and eight-month sentence he was sentenced in a previous child abuse case.
Emmanuel Haro was reportedly kidnapped, but his parents later faced murder charges.
(San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)
Harrow was convicted of felony wanton endangerment of a child in 2023 after his youngest daughter was taken to the hospital in 2018 with a fractured skull, multiple healed rib fractures, brain bleeding, neck swelling and a broken tibia in her leg, according to a police arrest warrant affidavit.
A judge later put that sentence on hold — a decision the Riverside County District made. Atty. Mike Hestrin lashed out at an Aug. 27 press conference.
“If that judge had done his job like he was supposed to do, Emanuel would be alive today,” Hestrin said. “It’s a shame and it’s outrageous.”
Haro has served 551 days and, based on the total charges, will spend at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
Although baby Emanuel’s body has not yet been found, prosecutors believe multiple acts of abuse and physical assault contributed to the boy’s death.
The mother has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and filing a false police report. Prosecutors said she will return to court on Jan. 21 for a felony settlement conference.
“The lies in this case only deepen the tragedy of Emanuel’s death,” Hestrin said in a statement Monday. “While today’s sentence represents a degree of accountability for Jack Harrow, our office will continue to pursue justice as the case against his co-defendants progresses.”
Prosecutors accused the couple of deliberately faking the kidnapping of their children. When investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department questioned the mother about inconsistencies in the police report, the couple stopped cooperating.
They were arrested a week later at their home in Cabazon. In August, authorities removed another 2-year-old child from the couple’s custody and searched a field in Moreno Valley accompanied by Harlow, who was wearing a jail jumpsuit.
Baby Emmanuel’s remains have not yet been found.
Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
