Death stuns friends of former Atlanta developer charged in wife's murder

By Christian Boone, Kristi E. Swartz and Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In 2007, former Atlanta developer Robert Ward shelled out $4.3 million for a suburban Orlando home once owned by golfing legend Arnold Palmer. Tiger Woods is a neighbor.

Since then Ward lost the business he built from scratch. It's been more than a year since his last mortgage payment -- $16,841 a month, court records show.

Now Ward is charged with murdering his wife, Diane Ward, after a shooting Monday night at the couple's palatial estate. The 61-year-old Daytona Beach native was denied bond Wednesday morning and remains jailed in Orange County, Fla.

Friends and associates find the allegation difficult to reconcile. Those who watched Robert Ward lose everything say he wasn't the type to crack under pressure, as many have assumed after learning of his money woes.

"I would remark to my wife how well he handled [the bankruptcy]," said Mark Rogers, formerly an executive vice-president with Ward's development company, Land Resources Group. Rogers last talked to Ward on Thursday.

"He was very upbeat, very positive, same as he always was," said Rogers, now a freelance development consultant based in Peachtree City. He was advising Ward on his comeback, and the developer of vacation communities was eagerly mapping out his second act, Rogers said.

"He was a true entrepreneur. He started with nothing," Rogers said.

Those hardscrabble roots will come in handy, as he'll remain jailed until at least sometime next month, when a bond hearing will be set, said Orange County jail spokesman Allen Moore.

Deputies said Diane Ward was dead when they arrived at the couple's estate at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla. She had a gunshot wound to the head, according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit.

Ward called 911 around 8 p.m. Monday and said, "I just shot my wife. She's dead," according to the arrest report. He told dispatchers the gun was in the nightstand.

Deputies said they found the former Atlanta Chamber of Commerce board member standing in his driveway. He told them his wife was in the master bedroom, dead.

Moments later, he was arrested.

Investigators later asked Ward whether the red stains on the back of his shirt were blood or wine, the affidavit said. Ward then asked to call his attorney. He later told officers that he called his brother-in-law, Glenn Saare.

"There were no two more wonderful people on this Earth than those two," Saare told the Orlando Sentinel. "She was a very giving person."

The couple had two daughters, Sarah and Mallory, currently enrolled at the University of  South Carolina and George Washington University, respectively.

Investigators confiscated a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum from the nightstand next to the couple's bed but have not yet confirmed whether it was the weapon used in the shooting.

The Wards moved from Atlanta, where they had met years before, in 2007. Land Resources also relocated, though Rogers said Ward wasn't actively involved in day-to-day management.

His involvement increased, associates say, after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November. Two months later he switched that filing to Chapter 7, which led to the liquidation of all company assets.

At the time of the filing, Ward told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his business fell victim to the real estate downturn. Ward said he was not making enough money on sales to complete promised projects and hoped to sell the company's assets, valued at $115.2 million, according to bankruptcy records. The Atlanta Braves were listed among the company's creditors.

As CEO of Land Resources, Ward managed 250 employees and oversaw the development of 35 subdivisions and 19 resort-style communities, including the one near the Cumberland Island National Seashore. The 1,000-acre Cumberland Harbour marina complex was built after years of legal battles between developers and environmentalists in Georgia.

Ward was trying to reacquire that property, Rogers said.

"I didn't lose any confidence in Bob's abilities," he said. And he's convinced Ward is not capable of murdering his wife.

"I considered them to have an ideal marriage," Rogers said.  "I can't fathom it. This had to have been some sort of horrible accident."