Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial: Jury deadlocked on 3 of 11 counts

Yahoo Finance's Alexis Keenan reports from the trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

Video transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I want to bring you a news alert now. The jury in the criminal fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict on 3 of the 11 counts. Yahoo Finance's Alexis Keenan has been in the courtroom in San Jose all day. She popped out to join us now on the phone quickly to give us the very latest. Alexis?

ALEXIS KEENAN: Hi, Alexis. Yes, I've just stepped out of the courtroom. Minutes ago, the judge was present. Elizabeth Holmes was present. Her attorneys were present, as were the government attorneys. And we convened to hear the jury's third questions so far after deliberating on this seventh day of questioning whether or not Elizabeth Holmes should be found responsible for fraud charges from the government.

Now, what is critical and why this was the most important question so far, the jury says they are deadlocked on 3 of 11 of the counts that come in the complaint. And I do believe we have those counts to show you. Elizabeth Holmes is charged with 11 counts. Two of them are counts charging her with conspiracy and 9 of them are wire fraud charges.

Now, we don't know which specific charges the jury is deadlocked on. That's information that we don't get to learn. But we did just have a court session where the parties conferred with each other. They spoke in front of the judge on how to handle this news from the jury.

And what ended up happening is that they all agreed, all of the parties agreed that the judge would read from the model instructions. These are omnibus instructions that are given to a jury when they're in this scenario. And what they were is a little 7.7. It's an instruction for a deadlocked jury. But they were having a little bit of trouble deciding how it should go because they're not saying we're deadlocked on all counts. We're just deadlocked on three of those.

And so they were read an instruction that basically tells the jurors that they have a duty to discuss the case with one another and to deliberate in an effort to reach a unanimous verdict. And remember, a unanimous verdict is needed for any of these counts to be a guilty finding. They are encouraged by this reading from the judge to go back to continued deliberation, but to do so with their own individual judgment and conscience, and also not to hesitate to re-examine some of their own views.

So the jurors were given that instruction, that they go back at it a little bit longer. And then we'll check in with you a bit later. So we'll see how things go here. But this undoubtedly was the most eventful day so far of jury deliberation. Certainly they are taking a hard look at each and every one of these counts.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Alexis Keenan, thanks for taking the time out to join us and give us the latest there. We know you'll bring us the very latest as it develops in San Jose.