< The Latest 2025-10-17T01:45:30+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Thu 10/16 11:51am PST | Brian Rokos
Jake Haro, who along with his wife was in the national spotlight after their 7-month-old child went missing during the summer, unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the Riverside Hall of Justice to second-degree murder of baby Emmanuel.
Haro’s voice increasingly broke with each response of “Yes, your honor” to Superior Court Judge Gary Polk’s questions. Asked whether he was admitting to the murder charge, Haro responded, “I’m guilty.”
Besides second-degree murder, Haro, 32, pleaded guilty to assault on a child under 8 years old that results in death, paralysis or a comatose state, and a misdemeanor count of filing a false report.
The plea came despite a gap in the investigation.
“As of today, the baby’s remains have not been recovered,” Amy McKenzie, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, said Thursday.
What changed Haro’s mind?
A clue to the answer emerged late Thursday afternoon. A new court record shows that Rebecca’s attorney, Jeff Moore, objected to a non-disclosure order regarding a “Perkins Operation,” in which a defendant is placed in a jail cell with an informant being paid by law enforcement to elicit a recorded confession.
There were rumors of Jake Haro being in such an operation leading up to Thursday, but the order — which is sealed from public view — is the first possible confirmation. The brief mention in court records does not say which defendant was placed with an informant or what was said.
Moore declined to comment on the order on Thursday, citing the confidentiality of the document. The DA’s Office also declined to comment.
Second-degree murder differs from first-degree murder in that it is the killing of a person without premeditation. It carries a sentence of 15 years to life. Haro also could get 25 years to life for the assault conviction, but McKenzie said Haro’s maximum prison-term when he is sentenced likely will be 25 to life. That would mean the sentences would be served at the same time.
Haro on Thursday pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge that had been filed in Banning in 2024, being a felon or addict in possession of a firearm. He also acknowledged violating probation. He has a previous conviction for child cruelty and received a sentence that District Attorney Mike Hestrin said was too lenient and contributed to Emmanuel’s death. A group that advocates for judges countered that it was not improper.
The assault charge was added on Thursday. McKenzie said Haro learned of the new allegation on Thursday and added that it was unrelated to the plea.
Haro made his plea to the court instead of in consultation with the District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s Office did not object to the plea, McKenzie said.
Sentencing was set for Nov. 3 but could be postponed if the Probation Department’s pre-sentencing report is not completed, Polk said.
Assistant Deputy District Attorney Brandon Smith declined afterward to say how Emmanuel was killed because Rebecca Haro’s case is ongoing. She pleaded not guilty Thursday to the same charges filed in Emmanuel’s disappearance.
Public Defender Steve Harmon declined to comment Thursday, citing the ongoing cases,
Rebecca Haro, 41, had claimed that Emmanuel was kidnapped by a man who she said knocked her unconscious in the parking lot of a Big 5 in Yucaipa on Aug. 14 — kicking off an investigation that drew national interest. She appeared to cry during interviews with the media, but actual tears were scarce.
On Aug. 17, San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators searched the couple’s Cabazon home, signaling their suspicions.
The Haros were arrested on Aug. 22.
On Aug. 26, the husband and wife were each charged with murder and filing a false police report.
Rebecca Haro stuck to her story in a jailhouse interview with a Southern California News Group reporter after authorities said her claim had too many inconsistencies to be believed. On Aug. 24, Jake Haro, wearing his red jail jumpsuit, was spotted on a hillside in the Moreno Valley Badlands as authorities searched the area for Emmanuel.
In a subsequent jailhouse interview, he would not say what led him and law enforcement to search that area. Haro also said his wife was innocent, but he declined to say the same thing for himself. He did say of Emmanuel, “I love you, buddy.”
The hearing on Thursday was expected to be routine, with attorneys discussing a new date for the preliminary hearing, when a judge hears limited evidence and decides whether there is enough to proceed to trial.
Indeed, that happened with Rebecca Haro’s preliminary hearing being moved from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3.
But then came a stunning statement from Jake Haro’s defense team that he was changing his plea from not guilty.
The case continues to garner worldwide attention. Several Facebook groups devoted solely to the case popped up where posters discussed the plight of the baby and offered their prayers. One commentator said she was monitoring the case from Finland. The lack of developments and information until Thursday prompted posters to speculate on the defendants’ roles and what they did — sometimes in gruesome detail — to the baby.
TikTok posters offered their version of events, sometimes without attributing their information to any official source. There was more social media activity on this case than anyone could remember.
Others built a memorial at the Haros’ Cabazon home and searched the area on foot.
A few of those people sat in the back of the courtroom on Thursday and wept when Jake Haro admitted to killing his baby. Outside the Riverside courthouse, they cried some more and hugged.
“So far, I feel justice is served, but we want to know where he is at so we can give him a proper burial,” one of the spectators, 35-year-old Ashley Roe of Hemet, said outside court. “Our whole thing now is that we just want to know where he’s at.”
Said 36-year-old Inland Empire resident Carla Jaramillo: “When I heard pleaded guilty to the counts he was given, I wanted to cry because we finally got justice for the baby.”