Parents of Emmanuel Haro Charged with Murder as Search for Missing 7-Month-Old Continues By Chris Spargo 44

The parents of missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro have been charged with first-degree murder.

Jake Haro, 32, and his wife Rebecca Haro, 41, are also facing an additional misdemeanor charge of making a false police report, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that both parents are being held on $1 million bail.

The couple had claimed their son was kidnapped from the parking lot of a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Yucaipa on Aug. 14.

In her first statement to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, Rebecca said she had been changing her son’s diaper when she was knocked unconscious by an unknown person or persons, and then woke up to discover her son was gone.

But at the same time the grieving mother was making tearful, public pleas and begging for the return of her son, the SBCSD said the couple became increasingly uncooperative after deputies pointed out “inconsistencies” in the information being provided by Rebecca about her child’s alleged disappearance.

Authorities are now presuming Emmanuel is dead, according to officials.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that Jake was previously convicted on a charge of willful child cruelty after a 2018 incident involving his then 10-week-old daughter with a different woman.

One of the doctors who examined the infant later said that her “condition could have been fatal if medical attention was not sought,” according to a copy of the arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE.

Jake claimed to have dropped the child in the sink while washing her, but doctors later reported the child had a brain hemorrhage, multiple rib fractures, a cervical spine injury, retinal hemorrhages and had suffered at least two seizures.

“The combination of the above findings in a pre-mobile infant in the absence of a plausible history of significant trauma to explain the injuries is indicative of abuse head trauma, child physical abuse and nutritional neglect,” the warrant said. “The history of a short fall onto the kitchen sink does not explain her extensive and severe head trauma or her multiple bilateral rib fractures.”

In 2023, Jake struck a deal with prosecutors and entered a guilty plea to a single count of willful child neglect. He was sentenced to 72 months in prison, which was then suspended, and placed on probation for 48 months.

Less than a year later, he was charged with violating his probation when he was allegedly discovered with a firearm.

That case had been expected to head to trial later this year, but it is unclear if Jake’s current arrest might shift the timeline of those proceedings.

Both Jake and Rebecca maintain their innocence, and neither has a lawyer listed on their court docket.