RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — San Bernardino and Riverside county officials discussed the presumed death of baby Emmanuel Haro one day after his parents were charged with murder, saying they believe he was abused over time.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, along with Sheriff Chad Bianco and San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus and others, provided details of their investigation during a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities have not recovered the 7-month-old’s body, but Hestrin said they have a “strong indication” of where his remains are located. They also believe that Emmanuel was abused over a period of time by his parents and eventually succumbed to those injuries.
“It’s appropriate to have a press conference, because it was the defendants in this case that had a press conference first,” Hestrin said. “They did so in order to tell the public, the media and ultimately law enforcement that their child had been kidnapped – when in fact that’s not what occurred.”
Emmanuel’s mother, Rebecca Haro, claimed she had been attacked in a Big 5 parking lot in Yucaipa on Aug. 14. She reported that her baby had been kidnapped.
The search continues for a 7-month-old boy who was reportedly kidnapped in Yucaipa.
Not long after the interview, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Rebecca and Jake Haro, the baby’s father, had stopped cooperating with their investigators. Some viewers said it was strange that in our interview, Jake spoke about his son in the past tense.
“He was a healthy baby. He was crawling. He was kicking. He was playing with his toys. He was a 7-month-old, he was our 7-month-old,” Jake told Eyewitness News on Aug. 15.
They were arrested at their Cabazon home last week.
The mother and father of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, who is presumed dead, have both been charged with murder.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Hestrin spoke about a case from two years ago in which Jake pleaded guilty to child abuse regarding one of his children with his ex-wife. That child was also an infant.
Jake did not go to prison.
“The judge decided Mr. Haro deserved an extra break and gave him probation, and basically 180 days of work-release, which ends up being like community service,” Hestrin said, calling the judge’s decision an “outrageous error in judgement.”
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin spoke about a case from two years ago in which Jake Haro pleaded guilty to child abuse regarding one of his other children.
“If that judge had done his job as he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today,” the district attorney said.
Emmanuel’s parents appeared in court Tuesday– with public defenders representing the mother and father — for less than five minutes, with a $1 million bail set for both. Their arraignment will continue on Sept. 4. They are also charged with making a false police report.
Rebecca is currently being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center, while Jake is being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, according to jail records.
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