When Parents Claim Abduction: The Emmanuel Haro Case
Seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro vanished from a Big 5 Sporting Goods parking lot in Yucaipa, California, on August 14, 2025. His mother, Rebecca Haro, told police she was changing his diaper beside her car when a stranger said “Hola,” attacked her, and kidnapped her baby. She woke up with a black eye, her infant son gone.
It’s every parent’s nightmare. It’s also a story I’ve heard before.
Much more rarely, I’ve also heard this one: Law enforcement starts noticing inconsistencies in the parent’s story. The parent suddenly stops cooperating. Skeletons in the family emerge, and the parent is revealed as the perpetrator.
I have reviewed some 40 cases of what I call staged abduction filicide. I watch cases like Emmanuel Haro’s with a mixture of hope and dread. Hope that this baby will be found safe. Dread because certain details trigger alarm bells based on patterns I’ve reviewed spanning 75 years.
No charges have been filed in the Haro case, and the mother may be telling the complete truth. The vast majority of parents who report children missing are genuine victims experiencing unimaginable trauma. However, I have observed that certain patterns, when they appear, warrant careful investigation, not to persecute grieving parents, but to ensure no investigative avenue is overlooked when a child’s life may hang in the balance.
The Red Flags
In my forthcoming book, When Parents Invent Monsters, I identify specific warning signs that distinguish genuine abductions from staged ones. The Haro case presents several:
- The Convenient Witness Elimination: Rebecca Haro claims she was knocked unconscious, eliminating herself as a witness to the actual abduction. Perpetrators often claim they were incapacitated-unable to identify their child’s attacker.
- The Vague Attacker: Despite being conscious enough to hear “Hola,” she does not describe the attacker. Staged abduction cases feature similarly phantom-like assailants.
- The Physical Evidence: A black eye serves as visible “proof” of an attack. Several cases I have observed include self-inflicted injuries to support the abduction narrative.
Most concerning: Reports indicate Rebecca Haro has now stopped cooperating with police.
An Observed Pattern
In 1994, Susan Smith told the world that a Black man carjacked her vehicle with her two sons inside. She made tearful pleas on national television. Nine days later, she confessed to drowning them.
In 2012, Stuart Hazell reported Tia Sharp missing and joined search efforts before her body was found in his attic; he was later convicted of murder.
In 2019, Megan Boswell gave conflicting stories about her daughter Evelyn’s whereabouts for months before the child’s body was found.
Luciano Frattolin is currently charged with second-degree murder for the 2025 death of his nine-year-old daughter, Melina, after claiming she was abducted by two men in a white van.
These aren’t isolated incidents. I have reviewed 44 verified cases where parents killed their children, then created elaborate abduction stories to deflect suspicion. I call this phenomenon “staged abduction filicide.”
What the Data Shows
These 44 cases reveal patterns:
- 80 percent of perpetrators were biological parents
- Mothers acting alone accounted for 60 percent of all cases
- 60 percent invented violent intruder scenarios (carjackers, masked men, home invasions)
- 40 percent claimed their child simply wandered off or disappeared
- The murders were motivated primarily by one of two factors: fatal child abuse escalating to murder (55 percent) or viewing the child as an obstacle to be removed (45 percent)
Why This Matters Now
If Emmanuel Haro was genuinely abducted, every second counts. But investigators must be willing to examine all possibilities. Cases like Susan Smith’s and others I’ve reviewed show how parental deception can misdirect crucial early search efforts.
The solution isn’t cynicism. It’s an informed investigation. When parents stop cooperating, when stories contain suspicious gaps, when physical evidence seems staged, investigators must be willing to pursue parallel tracks: the reported abduction and the possibility of parental involvement.
What Happens Next
If the Haro case follows patterns, we may see:
- Changes or contradictions in the mother’s story
- Discovery of family stressors or previous child welfare concerns
- Physical evidence that doesn’t match the abduction narrative
I pray I’m wrong. I hope Emmanuel Haro is found safe and his mother’s account is validated. But after reviewing dozens of parents who’ve invented monsters to cover unthinkable crimes, I’ve learned to recognize warning signs.
Because sometimes the real monster isn’t a stranger saying “Hello” in a parking lot.
Sometimes the monster is already home.
Originally published at https://www.psychologytoday.com.