Elizabeth Holmes jury won't reach a verdict before Christmas

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The jury in the Elizabeth Holmes case ended deliberations late Thursday afternoon and is expected to return Monday morning. 

It was supposed to be the last day of deliberations before a scheduled break for the Christmas holiday weekend– ratcheting up the suspense for court watchers eagerly awaiting a verdict in the high-profile trial.  

At noon, there was a bit of excitement when the jury sent a note to the judge, requesting to listen to several audio clips that were entered into evidence at trial. The judge had told the panel that there would be no transcript provided, so if they wished to review the recordings, they must do so in court.

The clips were conversations between Holmes and investors during a conference call that was recorded by Bryan Tolbert, an investment manager with Texas-based investment firm, the Hall Group.

Since the jury did not return a verdict Thursday, the panel decided to resume deliberations on Monday.

The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, is scheduled to be off the week after Christmas. It’s unclear if he would preside over a verdict if the jury reaches a decision next week.

The only signal the jury has given since it began deliberating last Friday came around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when it sent a note to Davila asking a question. 

Attorneys on both sides, along with Holmes, her family and the media, crowded into court to hear the contents of the note. The jury asked whether it could take the court’s instructions home during deliberations. 

Davila swiftly rejected the request – which attorneys on both sides agreed with.

The trial against Holmes has drawn international attention following intense media coverage of her former blood-testing company Theranos. 

When it was revealed her blood analyzers didn’t perform as she claimed and she was later charged with fraud and conspiracy, the once-fawning coverage she helped cultivate exploded into a wide-spread account of her fall from grace. 

Holmes faces nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiring with her co-defendant and former boyfriend Sunny Balwani, who was Theranos’ COO at the time of the allegations. 

Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@foxtv.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky