The jury deciding Elizabeth Holmes’ fate said late Monday it remained deadlocked on three of 11 charges in the fraud trial after earlier in the day flagging to the judge an inability to come to a unanimous decision on those particular counts.
The jurors didn’t specify which charges they couldn’t agree on, but jurors still can return a partial verdict on other counts on which members have agreed, according to federal trial rules.
The judge overseeing Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ fraud trial had urged jurors to keep deliberating earlier on Monday after they said they were unable to reach unanimous verdicts on the three charges.
After jurors’ initial statement, San Jose federal court judge Edward Davila asked jurors to re-examine their own views on the three unresolved charges and change their opinions if persuaded they are wrong.
The jurors on Monday then left the courtroom to continue deliberating and returned with a statement later in the day to say they remained deadlocked on the three charges.
If the jury of eight men and four women remains deadlocked on any charges, the prosecutors could opt to bring the charges against her again in a follow-up trial.
Holmes, who has been accused of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud for allegedly lying to investors and patients about Theranos’ blood testing technology, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Holmes has argued that she genuinely believed in the potential of Theranos technology. She has also said Ramesh “Sonny” Balwani, her ex-boyfriend and former number-two executive, emotionally and sexually abused her — and that he should actually be blamed for Theranos’ misdeeds.
Balwani, who denies the accusations, is set to face the same charges as Holmes in a separate trial later this year.
The Holmes jurors notified the court about their impasse in a note on Monday morning during their seventh day of deliberations.
Testimony in the Holmes trial, which has dragged on since September, officially wrapped up before Christmas. Jurors are weighing more than 900 exhibits and testimony from 32 witnesses, including Holmes herself.
With Post wires