California officials investigating the murder of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro revealed disturbing new details in the case Tuesday as the infant’s parents appeared in court to face murder charges.
Prosecutors believe Haro had been dead for up to nine days before his mother, Rebecca, reported that he was abducted outside a sporting goods store in Yucaipa, Calif., according to newly released court documents viewed by KTLA.
Investigators painted a murky timeline of the still-missing child’s fate, claiming the boy — believed to be dead — could have been killed sometime between Aug. 5 and Aug. 14, when the phony kidnapping took place.
The 41-year-old mother filed a report claiming she was attacked by a strange man outside the Big 5 Sporting Goods store as she changed her son’s diaper in the family car out in the parking lot.
Police launched a search for the missing tot but became wary of kidnapping after finding inconsistencies in the stories from Rebecca and her husband, Jake.
The couple stopped cooperating and retained a lawyer during the search, shortly before they became the primary suspects of the murder investigation.
“Based on the evidence, investigators determined a kidnapping in Yucaipa did not occur. It is believed Emmanuel is deceased, and the search to recover his remains is ongoing,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.
Officials seized the 32-year-old father’s car as evidence on Aug. 19.
The two were arrested during a raid at their Cabazon home on Aug. 22 and charged with murder with malice and false reporting of a crime.
Rebecca Haro was spotted at the same store days before the kidnapping report, allegedly asking management if there were exterior security cameras because her car had been burglarized in the parking lot, according to KTLA.
Jake Haro was spotted standing in an open field sporting an orange prison jumpsuit as officials searched for Emmanuel’s remains on wild land off a highway in Moreno Valley — two days after the couple was arrested.
What you need to know about the disappearance of Emmanuel Haro:
The child has yet to be located.
Rebecca Haro has maintained her innocent saying her husband would never hurt an infant and she wanted to look for her son.
“I want to be out looking for my baby. … I will not give up. I will not give up on my baby,” she told Southern California News Group on Sunday.
The Haros, who also have a 2-year-old daughter, appeared in a Riverside County court on Tuesday without any legal representation.
They were assigned the same public defender after their original attorney, Vincent Hughes, who had spoken for the couple before Tuesday, did not appear at the hearing.
Arraignments are scheduled to continue on Sept. 4, when separate attorneys are believed to be appointed and will be ready for the case, KTLA reported.
No pleas have been submitted in the case.
If found guilty of murder with malice, the couple faces between life in prison without parole and the death penalty.
Jake Haro previously served a six-month prison sentence for child cruelty stemming from an incident in 2018 and is currently on probation.
Rebecca Haro’s brother James Beushausen is currently serving at least 50 years in prison for the murder of his 27-year-old girlfriend Jaylynn Amanda Keith in 2017, and staging it as a suicide.
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