Dad pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in Emmanuel's death

Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, unexpectedly pleaded guilty Thursday to second degree murder in the death of his 7 month old son, Emmanuel, and admitted to related charges in a Riverside County courtroom, authorities said. Haro entered the plea at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Oct. 16 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 3. He also pleaded guilty to filing a false police report and assault of a child under 8, prosecutors said.

Haro changed his plea from not guilty during a scheduled hearing and answered the judge in a voice that broke, saying, "I'm guilty." Assistant Deputy District Attorney Brandon Smith declined to discuss how Emmanuel died, saying details remain tied to an ongoing case against the boy's mother, Rebecca Rene Haro, 41. Rebecca Haro remains in custody on murder and false-report charges and is due for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 3 after her hearing was moved from Oct. 28.

The case began Aug. 14 when Rebecca Haro reported that her infant son had been kidnapped from a parking lot in Yucaipa after she was assaulted and briefly rendered unconscious. Investigators later said they found inconsistencies in her account and shifted the probe away from an abduction....