Developer granted $100,000 bond

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Associated Press

A prominent Southeast real estate developer charged with second-degree murder in his wife's shooting death in Florida was granted his release on $100,000 bond Thursday.

Courtesy of Orange County Jail James Robert Ward

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The judge allowed it for J. Robert Ward after listening to his two daughters, sister-in-law, home caretaker and former colleague testify that he was not a threat to flee or harm himself or others. Ward will be let out after he is fitted for a monitoring device.

He also cannot leave the county without permission and must turn over all alcohol and firearms in his home under the conditions set by Circuit Judge Walter Komanski.

The 61-year-old developer pleaded not guilty Thursday to killing his wife, Diane. Ward initially told a 911 operator that he had shot his wife last month, according to the arrest affidavit, but under the dispatcher's questioning said that it was an accident. He later told others that his wife had killed herself.

His defense attorneys suggested during Thursday's hearing that Ward had interrupted his wife's suicide attempt and that the gun went off during a struggle. But medical examiner Jan Garavaglia testified that the gunpowder burns found on Diane Ward's face were inconsistent with suicide.

Ward is a self-made millionaire who in recent years had suffered crushing financial troubles. The shooting took place in the couple's multimillion dollar home in Isleworth, one of Orlando's most prosperous neighborhoods. The home was once owned by pro golfer Arnold Palmer, and the neighborhood is home to several sports stars.

Ward's jailhouse behavior came under scrutiny during recent visits with his daughter and sister-in-law, when he appeared on visitation video to do a striptease and joke lightheartedly in the days after his arrest. His daughter stuck her tongue out at him several times during one visit.

Ward's daughter Mallory, a college senior, said at the hearing that she didn't want her father to see her distraught during the visit and she was sure he didn't want her to know he was upset.

"It was a situation where we were trying to cheer each other up," Mallory Ward said.

Both she and her sister Sarah, a national equestrian champion, testified that their parents had sheltered them from their financial difficulties. Ward's company filed for bankruptcy last year and the couple hadn't paid the $16,841 monthly mortgage on their home in over a year.