Baby Emmanuel's 'Crying Dad' Makes Shocking Guilty Plea in Murder Case

and your honor has in front of you our. change of plea. um from not guilty to guilty. >> Jake Har, the father of missing. seven-month-old baby Emmanuel, who is. presumed dead, has just pleaded guilty. Why do this now? What does it mean for. the continuing criminal case against. Emanuel's mother, Rebecca? And what a. newly amended criminal complaint may. tell us. We're going to discuss it all. with celebrity criminal defense attorney.

Bradford Cohen. Welcome to Sidebar. presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. Hey, real quick everybody. This is. another Law and Crime legal alert. There. are allegations right now claiming that. online apps like DraftKings and ESPN Bet. and Bet MGM and Bet 365 and Fanatic. Sportsbook and Caesar Sportsbook that. they are engineered for addiction. These. multi-billion dollar companies allegedly. continue to put profit over safety. Every small payout, free bet, boosted. parlay, that can trigger a dopamine rush.

that creates dependency in a destructive. habit. They can keep users hooked and. trap people in a cycle that can lead to. serious financial loss. Well, I'll tell. you what, our legal sponsors, they are. taking on the online gambling industry. to seek justice and potential. compensation. So, if you or a loved one. has struggled with addiction, financial. hardship, mental health issues due to. sports betting apps, then visit. gamblingawsuits.com/sidebar. to take a short quiz and check your. eligibility to file a claim. We have got. a major legal development to talk about.

in the tragic awful case of Emanuel. Harlo, the 7-month-old boy whose death. captured the nation only a few months. ago. Now, you might remember this when. Emanuel was reported missing on August. 14th out in Kabazon, California, when. the boy's mother, Rebecca Haro, claimed. she was standing outside of her car in a. big five parking lot. This was out in. Ukipa changing Emanuel's diaper when. someone physically attacked her, knocked. her out, she wakes, her son was gone.

Remember that was the narrative. And the. search was intense. Okay, this was a. massive search. This story made national. attention. Deputies, K-9 units from San. Bernardino and Riverside counties, they. responded. Local sheriff specialized. investigations division responded. Rebecca and Emanuel's father, Jake. Harrow, they begged the public for help. The Harrow parents, they spoke to CNN's. affiliate uh KCAL and KCBS with Rebecca. saying, "I took him out of the car seat.

and I laid him on the chair and I had. his diapers right here and someone said, "Ola, and I couldn't even turn." And. that was just I don't remember nothing. Jake told CNN affiliate KABC, "He was a. healthy baby. He was crawling. He was. kicking. He was playing with his toys. Whoever took our son, please give him. back." Okay, here's the problem. After. interviewing Rebecca and Jake, Rebecca. was apparently confronted with. inconsistencies in her initial account. of what happened. And that is when they.

reportedly stopped cooperating with. authorities. And by the way, I should. mention Jake was previously convicted of. felony willful child endangerment in. 2023 for abusing a baby girl in 2018. According to authorities, she had a. skull fracture, rib fractures, brain. hemorrhage, swelling in neck, tibia. fracture. And by the way, this is after. Jake originally told police in that case. that he just accidentally dropped the. girl while giving her a bath. And when. Jake and Rebecca were being investigated. for Emanuel's disappearance, authorities.

removed a 2-year-old child from their. home. So, what happens here? What. happens with baby Emanuel? Well, authorities, they search the parents'. home. And on August 22nd, San Bernardino. County Sheriff's homicide detectives. arrest them. Arrest Jake and Rebecca. They were charged with murder and filing. a false police report. And to be clear, and this is one of the most chilling. aspects of this entire story, little. Emanuel's remains have not been found. In August, I will tell you officials, they claimed they had a quote pretty.

strong indication on where his remains. were. And they did indicate that baby. Emanuel was severely abused over a. period of time. But again, there's so. much that we don't know, right? Well, Riverside County District Attorney. Michael Hestrin in August said, "The. filing in this case reflects our belief. that baby Emanuel was abused over time. and that eventually because of that. abuse, he succumbed to those injuries. But now we got to talk about the big. news. And the big news is Jake Harrow. has just pleaded guilty and there is now.

an amended complaint that Rebecca still. faces." Okay, so for all this and more, because certainly there is a lot to. break down from a legal perspective, I. want to bring on a friend to the show. We love seeing him. Somebody who knows a. thing or two about high-profile cases, celebrity criminal defense attorney. Bradford Cohen with us in studio. Good. to see you. Thanks so much for taking. the time. >> I I got to start with this big news. Okay, so Jake Harrow, the father here, pleads guilty to secondderee murder, filing a false report and also assault.

of a child under 8 years old, which he. also was facing. apparently appeared in. court yesterday. He officially changed. his plea to guilty. This is all. according to the Riverside County DA's. office. My question is why do it and why. do it now? Everybody I spoke to about. this case is like it feels so early to. do it when you don't know all the. evidence against him. >> Yeah, it is a little early. I you know, whenever I look at these cases, I always. think that generally speaking, please. don't come until after you see the.

evidence, after you see what they have. Now, in a case like this, because it's. high-profile, they might have given a. lot to the defense and said like, "Listen, if you want to go through. through with a preliminary hearing, you. want us to put on a show, you want us to. do all that, then we're looking at XYZ, but if you do it now, we're going to. give you the deal of the century. We're. going to give you a second degree, and. we can show that, you know, the judge is. going to sentence you to this. We'll. agree to this." I think that's probably.

where they went. And again, it's very. early, but don't forget the I don't. think these people are are people of. great means. And I think that they also. weigh that into consideration when. you're looking at a defense, you're. looking at expert witnesses, you're. looking at a long time. They're not. getting, you know, a bond tomorrow that. they can afford, if at all. And so. they're going to be in there for two. years, three years waiting a trial. So. it might be that or it might be that. they the guilt of what actually.

happened. wait on him. And I'm not. saying this that it doesn't happen. It's. unusual, but it does happen. >> Some would say, "Okay, wait a minute. If. you have a case where there's no body. and and you know that a body would help. prosecutors explain what happened, when. it happened, you do the testing. If you. don't have a body, it doesn't mean that. someone can't be charged. It doesn't. mean someone can't be found guilty, but. it does provide a difficulty for. prosecutors. It provides more of an. avenue uh for defense attorneys. Maybe. maybe that's more so if you're dealing. with an adult victim. You could say.

maybe they ran away. Something happened. It's much more difficult when you're. dealing with a baby like this. But. again, going back to the aspect, do you. think defense attorneys would say this. was premature? There might have been. arguments we could have made to suggest. he's not guilty if we don't know where. the body is. >> Yeah, of course. You know, we don't know. all the evidence that's here, right? So. like we won't know everything that they. have. The key here is if you don't have. a body, but you're saying all the damage. that was done throughout the next the. past year or two, succumbed to these.

injuries and this is what happened. You're giving the idea that you know how. this murder occurred. I don't know if. they have that evidence, but if you. don't have the body, it's tough to say, okay, this is how the murder occurred. It was because he was beaten from when. he was, you know, one years old till. now. And all of those injuries led to. his death. It's a tough cell if you. don't have the body to show the. different injuries that led to his. death. >> The kidnapping story wasn't working.

>> No, the kidnapping story wasn't working. So, you know, when you have these kind. of, okay, you have stories that aren't. working, you know, and they know that. I'm sure they have cell phone data. I'm. sure they have texts between them. Uh, you know, in this day and age, I always. say it's like the hardest time to commit. any kind of crime is now. And it's not. just Yeah. Not just because of phones. and things of that nature, but because. people actually put stuff on social. media that leads to their arrest, that. lead to evidence, you know, and I I.

represent a lot of entertainers. There's. rap songs that they sing about and all. of a sudden, you know, that rap song. leads to their arrest. So there's a lot. going on with with those kind of. technologies that I think led to this. plea. >> Let me tell you something that I'm. suspecting might have happened here. It. was reported by News Nation that there. was a Perkins operation here. So Perkins. operation that Jake had admitted in jail. that he killed his son and threw him in. the trash. Perkins operation officer or. an informant poses as an inmate. And the.

LA Daily News has reported that there. was this new court record that revealed. Rebecca's attorney, Jeff Moore, objected. to a non-disclosure order regarding a. Perkins operation, seemingly confirming. that might have happened. If he admitted. to an inmate that he did this, you know, maybe that's what led to this. And he's. like, "Ah, you know, there's only but. because because you can also say are in. if this is true or you admitted to an. undercover officer, you admitted to an. inmate thinking they were an inmate, you. know, is it credible or is it not?".

>> Right? So, we've had cases where there's. either jailhouse snitches or other. inmates that are listening to what's. going on and then they're trying to save. their, you know, sentences. There's a. lot to attack there, especially if they. sent like an undercover agent in or that. individual was someone that they said, "Hey, listen. We're going to put you in. a cell with him to get him to talk.". Because you run into fifth amendment. privileges. Don't forget like just. because you're not a cop, but if a cop.

is sending you in to get a confession, it's still just like a cop did it. You. know, they're going to relate. So, we. don't know all that has gone on about. that. I'm sure that if that happened, it. would also lead to a plea because. they're like, "Okay, we looked at it and. this is okay, he gave an admission.". That's never good. But it doesn't mean. the case is over. Like, I've had cases. where we had jail house snitches where. we can show, you know, the guy has. snitched on four guys and one of them.

wasn't true or he's got a problem with. his own case. He wants to get out early. There's always motivations there. So, it. doesn't mean the case is over, but in. this case, obviously, he took a plea. I. don't know if that was a motivating. factor. >> There's something else I considered is. did they offer a deal and where he will. lead them to this baby's remains. The. reason I say that is early on in August, there were photos that came out of him. in jailb leading investigators into this. dusty field, but again, no remains were.

found. I don't know the circumstances. how that happened. >> But is this a possibility that he does. know where the remains are and in. exchange you that's important, right? It's important a for Rebecca's case, which we'll talk about, but b a sense of. closure, a sense of answers, knowing. what happened to this boy. You think. that could be a possibility, too? >> It's always a possibility in these. cases. Whenever there's a missing body, it always becomes part of kind of the. plea that the state attorney's office is. offering. And it usually is the family.

who's pushing for that. You know, the. family usually understands, any family, and not all families do this because. some families are like, I don't I as. long as this guy is going to the death. chamber or he's going to spend his life. in prison, I don't, you know, it is what. it is. But some families, they want the. remains back. They want to know what. happened. And if the individual is. willing to tell them what happened or. let them know where the body is, that. you sometimes lowers their their. exposure and they might get a second. degree. They might get instead of, you.

know, uh life without parole, 25 to life. with a chance of parole after 25. So. that usually does play a factor in it. Every time a victim's family says. something to a state attorney, usually. that that weighs heavily on their. decision. A lot of people say, "Okay, he's pleading guilty. He's going to be. testifying against Rebecca." You think. that's what's happening? >> I think it's definitely a possibility. I. I mean, usually that happens. You know, if you get two codefendants, one of them. is taking a plea, one of them isn't.

Usually as part and parcel of their. plea, it's either a a profer. So, you. take that chest piece off the board. So, you know, let's say two people are in a. car and there's drugs found in it. You. might not want the driver who's pleading. guilty to say, "Oh, that guy did it." Or. maybe he's not even willing to say that. guy did it. But you want the driver to. say, "Those drugs weren't mine." So, there's only two people in the car. I. don't want to say who they were, but. they weren't mine. So, you take that. chest piece off the table so the defense. can't say, "Oh, it's it's this guy's and.

blah blah blah." And we're going to put. him on the stand. He's going to testify. for us that it's his cuz he's already. taken a plea. So, it's two it's one of. those two things. It's either yes, he. may testify against her, or no, he might. not testify against her. But you take. that chest piece off the table so that. the defense can't use him as a witness. >> By the way, legal point of view, even if. he's not called as a witness in her. trial, would a jury in her trial, assuming they know nothing about this. case, would they learn during the course. of that trial that Jake ple pled guilty?

>> So, it's very interesting. Usually, usually no, because it affects the the. other codefendants's case. you know that. this guy already pled, you know, it's. almost like it's almost almost like. 404b, right? It's almost like bad bad. evidence. You know, it's like, oh, there's a bad act evidence here. But. that's really not, you know, not proper. There are ways that it comes in. If he's. a witness and he says like, yeah, I took. a plea. Obviously, it's coming in. because then you say like, okay, here's. the bias that he has. He was looking at. first degree, he got second degree, he's.

only going to serve 15 years and have a. chance for parole. So, all of those. things come into play. So then yes, they. would find out about it, but normally if. he's not coming in, he's not testifying, nothing, it would be very unusual that. it would come in. >> By the way, I want to make another point. about this. So the LA Daily News also is. reporting that Harold, Jake Harold, also. pleaded guilty to this unrelated charge. that had been filed in banning in 2024. being a felon or addict in possession of. a firearm. He also acknowledged that he. violated probation. But I do want to say. this, Bradford, this is a guy who did a.

jailhouse interview with the Southern. California news group. said that he. would tell his son, so baby Emanuel, I. love you, buddy. That he wouldn't really. talk about his role in his son's. disappearance. Maybe he was trying to. protect his defense. But he also did. that media interview he did when when. his son was missing. You know, whoever. has him, we're begging him to turn back. There's something about these kinds of. cases that, you know, you you think. about who would you even want on a jury? Who would you who would be sympathetic. to a case like this? Because at the end.

of the day, I it really is just. incredibly distressing and and. frustrating to think about this. He says. one thing and now is admitting what he. really did. >> Yeah. It's those cases are very hard. Usually on these type of cases, you want. people that are not fans of the. government, right? That that believe in. conspiracy theories. They're not fans of. the government. They they think that the. police have their own agenda, things of. that nature. And how do you get to that? Like I always say, oh, do you have any.

bumper stickers on your car? You know, I. I I ask the the the off kind of. off-kilter questions because I'm really. trying to figure out like where their. head's at. What books have you read? You. know, I ask questions to kind of find. out about the individual. So, to see if. they have if they question authority as. opposed to, oh, if a cop made an arrest, then the guy must be guilty. And there's. people out there that believe that. >> Yeah. No, that's a that's a that's a. good point. I always find that. questioning interesting because at first. glance, you're like, what is this about? and then you realize your own. Um, so.

let's talk about what we can expect at. sentencing here. Scheduled for no. November 3rd, faces, our understanding, 25 years to life. This is according to. the DA's office of Riverside. What can. we expect there? >> I think he gets 25 years to life. Yeah, I I think he's he's probably available. for a parole after 25 years, and that's. up to a parole board. Uh, a lot of. states don't have that parole anymore, but a couple do. And after 25 years, he. could be released. The likelihood is. probably not, but you never know in a. case like this where he's assisting, if.

he actually testifies, if he does. certain things, he he's admitted to his. role in it, if he also shows where the. body's buried. All those things come. into play when a parole board is looking. at possibility of parole. >> You think we'll hear from him? You think. he'll provide some sort of statement. about what happened? you know, it's, you. know, the first statement that he gave, I wouldn't advise to give him that first. statement, you know, to say like, "Hey, I just want my my son back." Um, I would. have never advised to do that, especially if you're a suspect. Like.

that it's just kind of idiotic. >> Well, at that point, I don't think he. was officially people started having. question. They had questions about the. story and like does that add up? But no. one actually came out and said, "Oh, he's a suspect. He's being" But but even. so, he probably should. the the police. were probably already identifying him as. a subject are identifying that the story. was not what the story was. And I think. that in any cases where there's a. kidnapping, I think in my experience, most officers approach that with that. the story is BS unfortunately because.

they've seen a lot of it and they start. ex right away they when they're talking. to you or talking to your fiance or wife. or whoever it is and it's a kid, they're. automatically trying to figure out like. is this guy telling me the truth or not? And that's just a a a a good detective's. reflex. And most can get the sense of if. this person's telling me the truth or. not within the first 10 minutes if. they're really good detectives, right? And they'll be like, "Okay, something. doesn't add up here. I can't put my. finger on it, but I think that this is.

not legit.". >> I want to talk about Rebecca uh for a. second. So, she's pleaded not guilty. She apparently still remains in custody. So, her case is continuing. She has a. preliminary hearing set for November. 3rd, so the same day as his sentencing. First of all, is that strange to do it. like that? >> Yes. Okay. It's very strange. >> Anything going on there? >> I don't think so. But it could be that. they're going to use him at the. preliminary hearing. So, they want his. plea to be in and him give whatever. profer he's going to give and then use.

him at the preliminary hearing to say, "Yeah, she's the one who did it." Or. >> And what is a preliminary hearing? Explain what it is. >> So, it's a mini trial. Preliminary. hearings. And not every state has has. preliminary hearings. The states that do. have preliminary hearings. It's like a. mini trial. So California is really one. of the big states that usually is is. very big on preliminary hearings. That's. because they don't have depositions. So. you get a lot of information in that. preliminary hearing. That murder case. that I had out in California, we had, I. don't know, six or seven day preliminary. hearing where people were coming in and.

giving us evidence and giving us their. testimony and how they came about. things. and it's your time to question. them and kind of start poking some holes. in the state's case. Now, what's unusual. about a preliminary hearing is you don't. want to put all your cards out there, right? So, you don't want to. cross-examine a guy like just start. slapping them around because you save. that for trial. Yeah. >> So, really a preliminary hearing is a is. a chance to gather information. Most of. the time they find probable cause and. that's what that is for. It's a very low.

standard and but you get a lot of. information at that preliminary hearing. that you might not be able to get in. some states that don't have depositions. >> So, in other words, let's expect this. case to continue after the preliminary. hearing because there going to be enough. evidence to move forward, but you get a. sense of what they have at this point. Um, and I want to talk about the case. against Rebecca Harrow because, okay, so. she's pleaded not guilty to murder and. that filing a false police report. She. remains in custody. Um uh so let me so. let me get into this amended complaint. that was filed yesterday on the day that.

Jake pleaded guilty. Now it lists out. count one how Jake and Rebecca in on or. about August 5th, 2025 through and. including August 14th, 2025 in the. county of Riverside, state of. California, the defendants did willfully. and unlawfully murder. And then they. talk about baby Emanuel. Count two, defendants did willfully and unlawfully. report to a police officer, deputy. sheriff, and member of the California. Highway Patrol that a felony and. misdemeanor has been committed, knowing.

that report to be false. And count three. was all about Jake. Only that Jake, quote, "Having the care and custody of. Baby Doe, a child under 8 years of age, did willfully and unlawfully assault. said child by means of force that to a. reasonable person would be likely to. produce great bodily injury, resulting. in the death of said child." Now, those. are the charges, but now I want to. highlight something else. The. aggravating factors that are laid out. here. Number one, and it is further. alleged that the offense was carried out. with planning, sophistication, and.

professionalism. There's also this. It. is further alleged the victim, Baby Do. eh, Emanuel Haro, was particularly. vulnerable. It is further alleged the. defendant, Rebecca Renee Harrow, took. advantage of a position of trust and. confidence to commit the crime. How. about this? It's further alleged the. defendant, Jake Mitchell Harrow, prior. performance while on probation, mandatory supervision, post-release. community supervision, and parole to was. unsatisfactory. We could put that one to. the side since case is resolved. But you.

think about the aggravating factors. facing her, right? Why list that out? Why is that important? Because in. California, you list out the aggravating. factors like the same thing that we had. in that murder case that we had out in. California. You list out the aggravating. factors so that it contributes to the. murder case and it contributes to um the. degree of murder. You know, they could. just charge it as just a murder case, right? They don't have to put first, second, or third, you know, manslaughter. They don't have to put. that in. So, those aggravators are what. pushes it to a first degree because.

there was planning involved and things. of that nature. It does give you an idea. of they have a better theory of the. crime, right? >> It does. And and and the thing is is. that probably from a profer from the. husband who already pled and I if things. go the way that I think they're going to. go, obviously the defense is going to. say, "Hey, this is the guy who's on. probation. This is the guy who's dirty. This is the guy who assaulted him all. these years." Yes, I've watched it. I. should have done a better job as a mom. because I knew about it, but I was. afraid of him, too. I think that's what.

I think. Yeah. >> Okay. Is that successful ever? >> Um, it's a tough one to sell because. moms, if you have moms, we go back to. who you put on your jury. If you have a. mom on a jury, I know my wife would. like, you know, go nuts if something. happened to her son. So, it's the same. kind of feeling that moms would have. A. normal mom on a jury would be like, "Hey, you know, she was watching she. they won't be able to relate to even if. she was scared of the husband to not do.

anything at all, to not take the kid. away, to not take the kid someplace. else. I think it's a hard cell, but it's. not impossible. So, I think that's where. the defense goes is that this guy's a. scary guy. This is the guy who, you. know, she actually got beaten, too. Like, I think that's where they have to. go with it because there was nowhere. there's nowhere else to go. The problem. for her is if she tells this story and. she were to take the stand and explain. the story, she's the same person that. did her own media interview and said she. got kid, you know, got knocked out and.

someone took her shot. It's like if she. can make that lie, alleged lie, right? And then come on the stand and say, "No, this is really what happens, like why. should the jury believe?". >> And that's why Casey Anthony didn't take. the stand, right? So Casey Anthony. didn't take because there was so many. stories that if you took the stand, which one is the true one? So that's the. problem when you have individuals that. have already put their story out or. already talked to the police. Now all of. a sudden you get all the discovery and. you're like, "Wait a minute. This is a. better defense this this road, but. you've already gone down this road.".

>> It makes the job a lot harder. >> I have a uh a criminal justice question. that I wanted to end on with that. There's a lot of frustrating aspects. about this case. There's a lot of tragic. aspects about this case, but frustrating. for a second. So, the Riverside County. DA, Mr. Hestram, criticized how Jake. Harrow had this previous 2023. case, right, that I mentioned before, how it was handled, that quote, as an. experienced child abuser. Remember, he. was convicted of abusing that girl. That.

Jay quote should have gone to prison and. called the judge's decision to sentence. him to just probation, quote, an. outrageous error in judgment. quote, "If. that judge had done his job as he should. have done, Emanuel would be alive. today." You think that's right? >> I think it's a very tough situation when. you start blaming, you know, three years. ago, four years ago, what a judge did in. a in a vacuum at that point or what they. knew or what they didn't know. Now, I.

don't know all what they knew at that. time of sentencing. I don't know if the. state attorney went along with the. probation or objected to the probation. or if he did something else and that's. why he got probation, did a program or. whatever it is. And we always sit here. after the fact and it's very easy to sit. here after the fact saying, "Hey, if. this one judge didn't let him out on a. driving while license suspended, he. wouldn't have gotten a DUI today." And. you know, it's it's very difficult. But.

knowing just from what he's saying, it. does seem unusual that he got straight. probation on a case where he was a known. child abuser, it was it seems unusual. that he would get straight probation. I. can tell you that. >> it's not like he was picked up for tax. evasion and then you're like, "Oh, he. commits murder, right?" If he abused a. young child in his care and now he just. plead guilty to not only abusing that ch. another child and killing that child, murdering that child, you can see why.

people are like this was what we talk. about in law. Foreseeable. Oh yeah, right. That's the problem. >> And it is a problem. And you know, it. gets easier, I think, to kind of play. Monday morning quarterback where someone. has 10 felony priors. Yes. you know, and. then all of a sudden the 11th one is. just as bad as the pri prior 10, and the. judge kept giving him probation. It's. really easy to say, "Okay, that judge. really made a bad choice there." Um, I. think it's more difficult without. knowing all of the facts. It does seem.

just from looking at it, without knowing. the facts, that probation wasn't. appropriate at that time. But again, you. know, these judges make these calls, and. it goes the other way, too. Sometimes I. get a case where I'm like, "God, the. judge lit this guy up for no reason and, you know, gave him, you know, two years. or three years where I'm in my mind I'm. like, this is a probation case." Yeah. So, it happens on both ends of the. spectrum. The the the thing is when you. get more time, it doesn't really matter. because the guy's in prison. >> Yeah, that's a good point. Um, Bradford. Cohen, thanks so much for coming on.

Really appreciate. Thanks for coming in. >> It's always good to see you. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcasts. You can follow me on. X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time. [Music].