No verdict in Elizabeth Holmes case after six days of deliberations
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos Inc., right, arrives at federal court in San Jose, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)
SAN JOSE - The jury in the Elizabeth Holmes case still hasn't reached a verdict after six full days of deliberations Wednesday. The panel won't return to discuss the case until Monday, Jan. 3, a spokesman for the federal court said.
There’s been no signal from the panel over the past three days about whether it’s close to reaching a verdict on the 11 criminal counts against the former Theranos CEO.
But according to court records posted at the end of deliberations Tuesday, two of Holmes’ attorneys and two attorneys on the prosecution team met with the judge for a 23 minutes’ conference earlier in the day.
The judge sealed the transcript of the hearing, which began shortly after 11 a.m. Holmes was not present for the hearing, records show. The court record does not indicate what was discussed.
Throughout the trial, the judge met in chambers with attorneys for off-the-record discussions.
The only other signs from the jury came last week when the panel asked to listen to recorded conversations between Holmes and investors from 2013. In the calls, Holmes discusses her company’s partnerships with the military and pharmaceutical companies among other things.
The prosecution said the tapes show Holmes misled investors because Theranos had long ended its work with pharmaceutical companies by that point and never had a partnership with the military.
The jury last week also sent the court a note asking if it could take the jury instructions home. The judge denied the request.
Closing arguments wrapped up on Dec. 17. Holmes faces nine counts of fraud and two counts of conspiracy for allegedly defrauding patients and investors.
Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@foxtv.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky