Instead she blamed Mr Balwani for failing to fix the laboratory problems as he had promised and, in the most dramatic testimony of the trial, alleged he had turned her into his pawn through a long-running pattern of abuse while exerting control over her diet, sleeping habits and friendships.

Mr Balwani has denied the abuse allegations and all charges that he defrauded patients and investors.

Holmes and Mr Balwani met in China while she was in high school, and became romantically involved after he joined the company in its early days.

Mr Balwani was made the company’s chief operating officer and effective number two despite a lack of clear medical expertise, and the couple maintained a secret relationship for 12 years until Holmes forced him out of the company in 2016.

The judge indicated that he is likely to hold off on the sentencing until the completion of a separate trial involving similar fraud charges against Mr Balwani that is scheduled to start next month in the same San Jose courtroom where Holmes’ legal saga unfolded. He has pleaded not guilty.

Five key moments in the trial 

1. The high-profile witness

The most prominent backer to take the stand was former secretary of state and Marine general Jim Mattis, who personally put $85,000 in Theranos. He said he and other investors were discouraged from scrutinising the company closely. “There came a point where I didn’t know what to believe about Theranos any more,” he said.

Among the other former investors on the witness list were Rupert Murdoch and Henry Kissinger.
Neither were called in the end.

2. The insiders

Theranos employees described realising that the Edison devices the company was built on did not work. One said the devices were simply “unsuitable for clinical use.” 

Former staffer Erika Cheung said she eventually became so concerned she began to refuse to run blood samples on them. “It was starting to get very, very uncomfortable and very stressful for me working at the company,” she said.

3. The faked logos

The prosecution accused Holmes of fraudulently adding the logos of other blue-chip firms such as Pfizer, Schering-Plough and GlaxoSmithKline to Theranos documents sent to investors in a bid to suggest its technology had been vetted by them.

“Pfizer did not write this,” prosecutor Robert Leach said, presenting one such paper. “Pfizer did not put its logo on this. Pfizer did not give its permission to put its logo on this. Pfizer did not make the conclusions in this report.”

Holmes admitted the manipulation, the first time she acknowledged any personal involvement in the documents, which were arguably one of the biggest smoking guns in the case. 

4. Holmes takes the stand

In a shock decision, the defense called only one significant witness, Holmes herself. It was a risky move that she presumably hoped would garner the jury’s sympathy.

Over seven days on the stand, she was grilled for several days about inconsistencies in her story. In response, she claimed to have always believed in her company and blamed Balwani for letting her down. 

5. Balwani’s role

Holmes’s personal life was picked over in detail, including memos she wrote to herself, journal entries and hundreds of text messages with Balwani. She was a strict dieter, and wrote notes to herself to be “never a minute late,” “call bullshit immediately,” and “show no excitement.”

The prosecution presented a picture of a strict, power-hungry manipulator. The defence said it showed she was a driven entrepreneur abused by her lover.

But the most dramatic moment came when she accused Balwani of raping, abusing and controlling her in an effort to “kill the old Elizabeth” and create the perfect CEO. He denies the allegations.