Disgraced Tech Entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes Gives Birth To Her First Child As Jury Selection Looms

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of the now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos, has given birth to her first child. 

Holmes, 37 and her partner, Billy Evans, named the child, who was born on July 10, William Holmes Evans according to ABC News. The news of the birth comes as Holmes awaits trial on charges that she defrauded investors in her company, Theranos, which she claimed would fundamentally change medicine by improving the method by which blood is drawn and tested for various markers and elements. Holmes has also been charged with a second scheme to defraud members of the medical community. Her trial was originally scheduled for July of 2020 but has been postponed four times due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and Holmes' pregnancy.

"The parties have met and conferred, and both parties agree that, in light of this development, it is not feasible to begin the trial on July 13, 2021, as currently scheduled," the court wrote when they first learned that Holmes was expecting a child, according to CNN. "In light of Defendant's pregnancy, the parties stipulate and agree, and respectfully request that the Court order, that the trial begin with jury selection on August 31, 2021."

Holmes was a well known and lauded entrepreneur for years before the truth – that the blood draw device she was marketing was based on a flimsy scientific concept and often did not work in real world settings was revealed in a 2015 Wall Street Journal article by reporter John Carreyrou. Her deals with investors soon fell apart as did agreements she had with large chains like Safeway who had agreed to carry Theranos technology in their stores. In 2019 the Justice Department filed charges agains her and business partner Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. 

The resulting media firestorm has resulted in multiple books, podcasts, documentaries, and a scripted series to air on Hulu starring Amanda Seyfried. Holmes herself has seemed relatively unbothered by her impending trial, ditching her trademark black turtleneck for a more casual look and getting engaged to Evans, 

Court documents, however, show that Holmes may plan to use claims of "mental disease" in her defense, Oxygen.com previously reported. And some remain skeptical of Holmes' motives even as they relate to motherhood. John Carreyrou told CNBC that some “think that she was timing her pregnancy in order to be showing during the trial to get the jury sympathies.” 

If convicted, Holmes faces 20 years in prison, as does her co-defendant, Balwani. Both have entered pleas of not guilty.