Hundreds gather in candlelight vigil for missing 7-month-old Cabazon baby
Athena Jreij
CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ) — Just hours after the arrests of Jake and Rebecca Haro, community members from across Southern California gathered at the home to honor the missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro in a candlelight vigil.
Emmanuel’s parents were arrested in their Cabazon home on Friday morning and are now facing murder charges after reporting the baby missing a week ago.
Now, advocates say they won’t be satisfied until the baby is found. Investigators say they believe the baby is dead.
“This is the last place everyone knows Emmanuel was at, and where better to honor him than his own home,” Jennifer Barajas, the vigil organizer, said.
While movement in the case is a relief, many questions are still unanswered like how the baby died or where his body is.
“How could a seven-month-old baby just disappear like that? Seven months?” Jonny, a Victorville resident, said.
“I think everybody just wants to know where he is and what happened to him, so we can finally get some justice for him,” Taylor Martinson said.
Many at the vigil telling News Channel 3 they felt drawn to the case as parents themselves.
“It’s so close to home. I have two children myself, and there’s nothing that the baby could have done to deserve whatever it is that he had went through,” Martinson said.
“I get emotional … because he had no chance. He didn’t have parents that love him. You know, every child deserves a loving parents,” Valentina Toro said.
Now, many hoping the baby’s disappearance leads to change.
“There was no reason for him to be around another child. With the prior incidents that he had before. So I feel like it should change the justice system for every child that’s going through abuse,” Martinson said, referring to Jake Haro who pled guilty to willful cruelty to a child in 2018.