Re-trial of alleged wife killer begins

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - The retrial of former millionaire real estate developer Bob Ward began in Orange County Court, Monday morning. Ward was convicted in 2011 of killing his wife and spent six years in prison for the murder.

Ward bonded-out of the Orange County jail last year. As he left, he hugged his daughters, who have stood by him through his trial and hearings despite charges that he murdered their mother.

“I can help him financially; I can come down when I need to. Anything that he needs. I'll talk to him all the time still, I'm sure. But, anything that he needs,” one of his daughters said at trial.
Prosecutors maintain Ward shot his wife Diane in 2009, in a fit of rage three days before she was set to testify in his bankruptcy case. They played part of his 911 call in court.

“I just shot my wife.  I just shot my wife,” Ward could be heard saying on the recording, “she's right here on the floor.”

Ward's defense team, however, had painted it as a tragic accident. Though Ward was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing, the ruling was overturned on appeal. A higher court judge found that his original lawyers had mishandled his defense.

“First of all, we are obviously pleased with the court’s ruling that the conviction has been vacated,” Craig Gillen, Ward’s new attorney, said at the time. Ward remains free on a million dollars' bond.