Rebecca Renee Haro avoids murder rap in case of missing Yucaipa baby son, Emmanuel Haro as the mother pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felony child abuse, accessory after the fact as she is sentenced to 12 years and 8 months prison following husband pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder, child assault and filing a false police report and sentenced to 32 years to life.
The mother of Emmanuel Haro, the missing 7-month-old baby who is presumed dead in Yucaipa, California pleaded guilty on Friday to involuntary manslaughter and other charges in the case.
The guilty plea came as Rebecca Renee Haro, 42, was in court for a previously scheduled preliminary hearing that had been expected to determine whether she should be tried for her son’s murder.
The plea follows Rebecca Haro admitting she failed to protect her son and helped cover up the circumstances surrounding the boy’s alleged death. The DA’s office alleged Rebecca became aware of signs of abuse but failed to protect the baby or obtain medical care. Prosecutors added that she participated in efforts to conceal the crime.
Rebecca Haro failed in her duty as a mother
Following an agreement with the Riverside County district attorney’s office, Haro pleaded guilty to felony child abuse causing great bodily injury to a child under the age of five, involuntary manslaughter, and accessory after the fact, the D.A.’s office said according to Eyewitness News. As part of the agreement, Haro will be sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in state prison, prosecutors said.
Stated Assistant District Attorney Brandon Smith, ‘Rebecca’s choice not to intervene was a choice to allow, if not facilitate, Emmanuel’s death. This defendant had a legal and moral responsibility as Emmanuel’s mother. She catastrophically failed in that duty.’
The charges stem from the alleged killing of baby Emmanuel in August, 2025, despite the missing boy’s body never being recovered and presumed dead.
Missing Yucaipa baby boy’s body yet to be recovered
At the time of the boy’s disappearance, Haro and her husband claimed Emmanuel was kidnapped while she changed his diaper in a parking lot. That triggered an urgent search joined by community members and the baby’s parents, who at the time pleaded for the public’s help.
Investigators later determined the kidnapping never happened and alleged the story had been fabricated.
Emmanuel’s parents were arrested in his death not long after.
According to court documents obtained by Orange County Register, a forensic pediatric specialist working on the case believes Emmanuel suffered from abnormal shaking of his extremities that could be related to a brain injury caused by abuse.
Emmanuel’s father, 33-year-old Jake Mitchell Haro, who had had prior arrests for violence towards children pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder, child assault and filing a false police report. He was sentenced in November to 32 years to life in state prison.
