Parents of missing 7-month-old California boy are charged with murder

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The parents of a missing 7-month-old boy in Southern California have been charged with murder.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s office charged Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Haro, 41, in the death of their son Emmanuel, according to court papers filed Tuesday.

They are also charged with filing a false police report, which is a misdemeanor.

The boy hasn’t been found, and authorities said they believe he is dead.

The Haros were scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, but their arraignment was delayed until Sept. 4. Each is being held on $1 million bail, online court records show.

A message was left for Brian Cosgrove, who was listed as the defense attorney in the case records.

Riverside County prosecutors said they would not release additional information until a press conference on Wednesday.

Last week, the couple urged the public to help find their son. They were arrested Friday, a little more than a week after Rebecca Haro told authorities she was changing her son's diaper outside a store in the San Bernardino County community of Yucaipa when she was assaulted and left unconscious. She told deputies that when she awoke, her son was gone.

Authorities said in a statement that they later confronted Rebecca Haro about inconsistencies in her account and that she refused to cooperate. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department declined to discuss what these inconsistencies were.

Authorities searched the family's home in the Riverside County community of Cabazon. Over the weekend, they also searched for the boy’s body near a freeway while his father, wearing a jail jumpsuit, was present. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it wouldn't describe Jake Haro's presence during the search as “providing assistance,” but it declined to provide additional information

Jake Haro was convicted of child cruelty in 2023 and was required to enroll in a child abuse treatment program, court records show. His attorney in that case, Vincent Hughes, told the Sun newspaper last week that he didn’t believe the Haros were responsible for their son's disappearance.

Hughes didn't immediately respond to Tuesday’s messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Rebecca Haro told the Press-Enterprise in a jailhouse interview last weekend that her husband wouldn’t hurt an infant, and that she wanted to find her son.

“I want to be out looking for my baby,” she said.