The parents of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro were officially charged with his murder on Thursday.
Rebecca and Jake Haro appeared briefly in court at the Riverside Hall of Justice in California, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges. Although authorities have not yet located Emmanuel’s remains, the couple is accused of killing their infant son.
The hearing was short and straightforward, with one exception: Rebecca introduced a new lawyer, Jeff Moore, who joined her public defender on her legal team.
Court records confirm that Moore is now part of Rebecca’s defense. He has handled high-profile cases before, including representing Louise and David Turpin, the California parents convicted of imprisoning and abusing their 13 children in a “house of horrors.”
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The Turpins were arrested in 2018 after one of their daughters escaped and contacted police. Investigators discovered the children living in filthy conditions, malnourished, and with limited vocabularies. One boy had been shackled to a bed for weeks. The Turpins later pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges, including torture and false imprisonment, and are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Rebecca and Jake continue to insist they did not kill Emmanuel and claim they don’t know where he is. Rebecca told police her son was kidnapped on August 14 in Yucaipa, saying she had been attacked in a store parking lot and woke up to find him missing.
At first, her story drew sympathy. She even had a black eye she said came from the attack. But investigators soon noticed inconsistencies. Authorities also reported that the couple stopped cooperating with the investigation within a week.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department later announced that Emmanuel had not been kidnapped, but was believed to be dead. That same day, Rebecca and Jake were arrested on suspicion of murder.
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On August 24, Jake was briefly released from jail to help investigators search for Emmanuel. According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, the last confirmed sighting of the child was on August 5 — several days before Rebecca reported the alleged kidnapping.
Rebecca and Jake remain in custody on $1 million bail. The couple also has a 2-year-old child, who has since been removed from their care.
