Baby Emmanuel Haro’s parents plead not guilty to murder in child’s disappearance

The parents of missing baby Emmanuel Haro pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder each on Thursday, more than two weeks after the child’s mother claimed he vanished during an attack.

Emmanuel’s parents, Jake Haro, 32, and Rebecca Haro, 41, were charged last week in Riverside County Superior Court on one count each of murder with malice. They also were charged with making a false police report, a misdemeanor. Riverside County prosecutors are asking that they be held in lieu of $1-million bail.

Authorities say the couple faked the 7-month-old’s disappearance and the infant is presumed dead.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rebecca Haro said she was attacked in a Yucaipa parking lot Aug. 14 outside a Big 5 store while changing Emmanuel’s diaper. But investigators said there were inconsistencies in her initial statement, and when they confronted her about those details, they said she stopped cooperating.

Authorities arrested the parents at their Cabazon home Aug. 21. Sheriff’s investigators are now focused on finding Emmanuel’s remains. In the first weeks of the investigation, search teams scoured an isolated field in Moreno Valley. They were accompanied by Jake Haro but did not find anything, officials said.

The case has captured the fascination of true-crime mystery fans, with the couple maintaining their innocence as a prior criminal case against Jake Haro has resurfaced.