RICHMOND — Jurors put in a full day of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the public corruption trial of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen.
They began reviewing five weeks of testimony and scores of exhibits Tuesday afternoon and have now deliberated about 13 hours. They return Thursday morning.
The McDonnells are charged in a 14-count indictment with accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific Inc. executive Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company’s nutritional supplements.
An expert said jurors feel invested in the case after spending five weeks listening to testimony and are probably taking a methodical approach to deciding each charge.
‘‘Jurors take this job very seriously,’’ said Jill Holmquist, president of the American Society of Trial Consultants.
She said the longer a decision takes, the more disagreement it reflects among jurors.
McDonnell testified that he did not do anything special for Williams in exchange for the gifts and loans. McDonnell said that he arranged meetings for Williams with other government officials but that he did the same thing for countless others seeking the collective ear of the state.
The McDonnells also attended several events promoting Williams’s supposed cure-all, Anatabloc, and hosted an event at the governor’s mansion that Star billed as a product launch. McDonnell said there was nothing out of the ordinary about those events, either.
However, prosecutors emphasized that others who were given access to state officials and a public relations boost by the first couple’s appearance at company events were not simultaneously lavishing the McDonnells with gifts. The haul for the McDonnells included $20,000 in designer clothing and accessories for the then-first lady, a $6,500 Rolex watch for her husband, $15,000 to cover catering for a daughter’s wedding, free vacations and golf outings, and $120,000 in low-interest loans.
Williams testified under immunity that he spent money on the McDonnells to get their help promoting Anatabloc. He also addressed a defense attorney’s claim that Maureen McDonnell had developed a ‘‘crush’’ on him, saying he had no idea she felt that way and that he considered the relationship strictly business.