Elizabeth Holmes Abuse Defense Remains Veiled at Start of Trial

The big mysteries hanging over Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes’s criminal trial -- whether she’ll claim she was abused by her former romantic partner and whether she will testify in her own defense -- remain unresolved even after her lawyers presented opening arguments to a jury.

Holmes’s lawyer, Lance Wade, twice came close Wednesday to placing the blame for her alleged fraud on her ex-boyfriend and former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, as he wove a narrative of her life.

“You’ll learn that certain aspects of that relationship had a big impact on Ms. Holmes,” Wade told ...