A California couple was arrested a week after their 7-month-old son was reported missing, following the mother’s claim that an attacker struck her and abducted the baby outside a store.
The infant, Emmanuel Haro, was reported missing on Aug. 14 by his mother, Rebecca Haro, who told authorities she was attacked while changing him outside a Big 5 Store in Yucaipa, Calif., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
On Friday, Aug. 22, the department announced the arrests of Rebecca and Jake Haro, the child’s parents, on murder charges.
The investigation began on Aug. 14 when authorities received a report of a missing child in Yucaipa, per an SBSD statement.
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Rebecca previously told KTLA that on the day of the incident, she and Jake were at a local park with their three children for their son’s football practice. She said she drove to a Big 5 Sporting Goods store to buy her son a mouthguard and took Emmanuel with her.
She parked the car and began changing Emmanuel when she claimed she heard someone say “hola” and then lost consciousness. Upon waking, she said, the baby was gone. At the time, she also had a black eye, according to her interview with the TV station.
Her account soon came under scrutiny as police noted what they described as inconsistencies in her story over the weekend.
“Rebecca was confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview,” the SBSD alleged in their updated statement.
As news of Emmanuel’s disappearance spread, a past conviction of Jake’s resurfaced. Court records cited by The Orange County Register show Jake was convicted of child cruelty in 2018 after injuries to his ten-week-old daughter.
The search for Emmanuel continues.
