Elizabeth Holmes trial Week 5 recap: A juror leaves over punishment beliefs, and former Safeway CEO Steven Burd describes an unusual deal

• The fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has rounded out its fifth week.
• Former Safeway CEO Steven Burd testified, and another juror left in a troubling sign for Holmes.
• Here’s everything that happened in the trial in its fifth week.

Former lab director completes six days on the stand

The trial resumed this week with the continued cross-examination of former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff.

Lance Wade, one of Holmes’ defense attorneys, read to the court part of a deposition that Rosendorff had given in a separate case, according to The Wall Street Journal. In it, Rosendorff had said Theranos didn’t have more anomalous test results than other places he had worked, including the University of Pittsburgh.

Rosendorff responded that the school ran many more tests than Theranos, so Theranos was expected to have had fewer errors.

Wade also brought up Rosendorff’s current employment at lab services company PerkinElmer, which has also been subject to scrutiny from federal inspectors over its testing abilities, the Journal reports.

Rosendorff said under questioning that his lab director license was at risk when the inspectors found problems at PerkinElmer’s lab in Valencia earlier this year.

Another juror leaves, citing beliefs about punishment

A juror was dismissed on Wednesday after she told the judge her Buddhist religion would affect her ability to ultimately participate in reaching a verdict. Juror No. 4 told Judge Edward Davila that she practices “compassion, for loving and forgiveness,” according to ABC News. She said she had become anxious about the possibility of sending Holmes to prison and was “thinking about this every day.”

After she was dismissed, the alternate chosen to replace her also expressed reservations about being a juror. The alternate told Davila she was worried about her ability to be a juror because English isn’t her first language, KTVU reports.

“It’s my first time in this situation and it’s her future,” the alternate said, according to ABC News. “I don’t know if I’m 100% ready to participate in something like this.”

The alternate also said of Holmes, “She’s so young.” Regardless, Davila ruled that she was fit to replace the departing juror, who is the second person to leave the jury so far.

Former Safeway CEO testifies

On Wednesday, Steven Burd, who was CEO of Safeway for 20 years before retiring in 2013, took the stand. He testified that upon hearing about Theranos, he thought it was a “fascinating concept” and was “immediately interested in meeting Theranos and particularly the founder.”

“The cost reductions appealed to me,” he said, according to KTVU. “The idea of getting a blood test in 20-30 minutes appealed to me.”

Burd also sang Holmes’ praises on the stand, calling her “charismatic” and “smart.”

“Not all CEOs are alike,” Burd testified, according to The New York Times. “She would rise to the top of the pile in terms of vision, in terms of command of the information, clearly in terms of delivery. She was always decisive.”

In September 2010, Safeway and Theranos signed a contract with an anticipated $85 million financial commitment, of which $30 million was needed to put labs in Safeway stores. Burd said he thought it unusual that he “never saw an attorney” in the course of the negotiations, which he said Holmes seemed to be doing by herself.

Speaking of Theranos’ technology, Burd added, “We were consistently told that it essentially replaces a traditional full-blown lab,” according to KTVU.

You can catch up on Week 1 here, Week 2 here, Week 3 here, and Week 4 here. You can read how Holmes wound up on trial here and see the list of potential witnesses here. Everything else you need to know about the case is here.