Theranos jury says it remains deadlocked on three of 11 fraud counts

The jury weighing fraud charges against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has told the court it is unable to reach a unanimous verdict on three of the 11 criminal counts she faces.

Jurors in the high-profile Silicon Valley trial had been deliberating for seven days after a trial that chronicled the missteps of the now-defunct blood testing startup. Over the course of 15 weeks, federal prosecutors called 29 witnesses, outlining missteps and alleged fraud Holmes committed during her 15-year reign as CEO.

In a dramatic turn of events, US jurors returned a note to the judge on Monday morning saying they were deadlocked on three charges. In response to the note, US district judge Edward Davila gave the jury what is called an Allen charge, encouraging them to deliberate further.

But jurors returned to the court several hours later, saying they remained unable to move forward.

Holmes faces nine charges of fraud and two charges of conspiracy to commit fraud. It is not clear on which of those charges the jury was unable to come to an agreement.

If the jury is unable to come to a conclusion, it may under federal rules deliver a partial verdict. Such a conclusion would, however, leave Holmes open to be re-charged with the remaining three charges at a later time.

Holmes founded Theranos after dropping out of Stanford at the age of 19, promising a revolutionary technology that could run hundreds of health tests on just a drop of blood.

Taking the stand in her own defense, Holmes argues she made decisions in good faith and did not knowingly commit fraud.