WINDERMERE, Fla. -- A judge decided Wednesday morning to hold James Robert Ward on no bond on a charge of killing his wife.

 

Ward's attorney argued that the arrest affidavit was "very, very thin on whether this was a homicide or a suicide" as he sought to have the judge set a bond.

 

The judge said she agreed that that affidavit was not the most detailed, but she said she saw probable cause that Ward be held on a charge of killing his wife, Diane, in their Isleworth mansion on Monday.

 Ward remained silent even when denied bond. He can seek a bond hearing in front of the judge who will hear the case.

 A neighbor of the man accused in the slaying of his wife inside their Isleworth mansion said he heard the gunshots Monday night.

 Video: Court Appearance | PDF: Arrest Affidavit | More Images

 "From what I can tell this was a very close and loving family," said Ward's defense attorney Kirk Kirkconnell.

 He wouldn't go into details about what his client had told him happened the night of his wife's death.

 "I haven't heard the 911 call," Kirkconnell said. "I don't know if that's something I have to refute."

 The attorney said he believes that investigators don't have enough evidence to charge his client with murder, arguing to a judge that Ward should be set free.

 "The medical examiner said the preliminary cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death is homicide with no other explanation whatsoever," Kirkconnell said.

 Most neighbors wouldn't talk about the fatal shooting of Diane Ward and the later arrest of her husband on charges of suspicion of second-degree murder inside the exclusive gated community in Windermere. But one neighbor talked exclusively to WESH 2 News about the crime.

 "I heard what I thought were gunshots, but I didn't think much of it because I figured, gunshots? Really?" a neighbor said.

 A slaying in Isleworth is unprecedented and was unexpected, residents said.

 

 "It was more like it was just out of nowhere ... It was real quick," the neighbor said.

 The neighbor asked not to be identified. He said within minutes of the gunshots, authorities swarmed the home on Isleworth Country Club Drive and found James Robert Ward in the driveway.

 

An arrest affidavit indicated that Ward called 911 and told an operator, "I shot my wife. She's dead. She's on the floor of the master bedroom."

 

 When authorities went inside the seven-bedroom estate currently listed for sale for more than $5 million, they found Diane Ward dead inside and a .357 Magnum handgun on a nightstand where her husband had said to look for it.

 

"People in here are constantly trying to keep up with the Joneses," the neighbor said.

 

Less than one year ago, James Robert Ward -- who goes by "Bob" -- filed for bankruptcy protection for his development company worth more than $100 million.

 He reportedly had debts of more than double that amount. Court documents reveal he hasn't made the almost $17,000-a-month mortgage payment on his home for more than a year and the property is in foreclosure.

 

Investigators wouldn't say if financial problems were the motive for the attack.

 

Bob Ward will stay in jail until a bond hearing can be set with the Orange County judge who will hear the case.

 Details Emerge About Isleworth Couple's Lifestyle

 According to a lawsuit filed in federal court, Bob and Diane Ward spent money lavishly -- even in troubled times.

 Before being jailed on charges he fatally shot his wife, Isleworth millionaire Bob Ward is accused of spending money he didn't have.

 A federal lawsuit claims as early as 2007 that Ward was aware his company was going to fail, so Ward and his wife started diverting funds to family members and spending.

 Among the claim, in March of 2007 Ward bought a Mercedes Benz S600 for $141,000, a Lexus RX sport utility vehicle, a Chevy SUV and a Mercedes convertible. That same year, Diane Ward allegedly paid off real estate loans of $1.875 million and $671,000.

 Elizabeth Green represents Ward's company in the bankruptcy case and is one of the first people he called the night he was arrested. She said the spending referred to in the lawsuit was done when Ward's company was still solvent.

 "These homes were bought prior to that time and most of their vehicles were bought prior to that time they were all done in 2007 when no one could realize that the real estate was going to burst," Green said.

 But the lawsuit also alleges Ward bought a brand new Porsche in May of this year -- well after his company was defunct and at a time when he'd been defaulting on the mortgage payments for over a year.

 Green won't comment on the Porsche purchase but maintains like so many developers, Ward was a victim of the economy. As for the shooting, Green had this to say:

 "I was devastated for the family.Whatever happened, there's two sides to every story and I don't know what happened but it's devastating."

 As for how Ward is doing, Green said she can't share their interactions but we did get a visitation sheet from the jail.

 

Ward will have his first visits from family members Friday. His sister-in-law and his daughter Malory are scheduled to visit him twice Friday and again on Saturday.