Attorneys for disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes appear to be tossing one more Hail Mary pass before her sentencing next month.
In court documents filed on Tuesday, they claim that a star witness for the prosecution in the trial, Adam Rosendorff, was having regrets about his testimony. They argue that this “newly discovered evidence” warrants a new trial.
Related: 5 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos Trial
A Strange Visit to Holmes’ Home
Rosendorff is a former lab director at Theranos who testified against Holmes during her fraud trial. But here’s where things get strange.
According to the new filing, Rosendorff visited Holmes’ home unannounced on August 8, wanting to speak to her. He chatted with her boyfriend Billy Evans when she didn’t meet him.
Evans described Rosendorff as being disheveled. “His shirt was untucked, his hair was messy,” he wrote to Holmes’ lawyers. Then Rosendorff told him that “when he was called as a witness, he tried to answer the questions honestly but that the prosecutors tried to make everybody look bad.”
After speaking for a while, Rosendorff returned to his car and allegedly started to drive the wrong way. When Evans pointed him in the right direction, Rosendorff rolled down his window and continued talking. “He said he is hurting,” Evans said in a memo filed with the motion. “He said he feels guilty. He said he felt like he had done something wrong. And that this was weighing on him. He said he was having trouble sleeping. He felt desperate to talk to Elizabeth.”
Holmes Legal Team Reacts Strongly
Holmes’ legal team wrote about Evans’ bizarre encounter with Rosendorff, “The statements warrant a new trial under Rule 33. But, at a minimum, and to the extent the Court has any doubt about whether a new trial is required, the Court should order an evidentiary hearing and permit Ms. Holmes to subpoena Dr. Rosendorff to testify about his concerns.”
On January 3, Holmes was convicted of four counts of defrauding investors in a high-profile case that made international headlines and spawned documentaries and TV mini-series.
This is not her first attempt to appeal the verdict. Last month, Holmes’ lawyers argued that the jury acted irrationally during deliberations. The judge rejected this claim.
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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