Baby Emmanuel case: Rebecca Haro, mother of missing Yucaipa baby, pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter

RIVERSIDE, Calif. () — The mother of Emmanuel Haro, the missing 7-month-old baby who is presumed dead in Yucaipa, 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.

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. As part of the agreement, Haro will be sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in state prison, prosecutors said.

The charges stem from the killing of baby Emmanuel in August.

Haro, who is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail, appeared before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Last year, 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.

Emmanuel’s parents were arrested in his death not long after. His body has not been found.

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, 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.

City News Service contributed to this report.