ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- It was murder in a $3.5 million mansion. A real estate developer was arrested for shooting his wife to death inside an Isleworth home Monday night (images of home | raw video). James Robert Ward, 61, has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held on no bond.

Ward, however, claims he was trying to stop his wife, 55-year-old Diane Elizabeth Ward, from committing suicide in their home on Isleworth Country Club Drive (see map). Ward initially told a 911 operator repeatedly that he had shot his wife Monday night, but then changed his story when apparently talking to his attorney that she killed herself. Investigators are still trying to find out what happened to the wealthy couple that led to the tragic end.

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MAN IN CUSTODY: Watch Video | See Images
SEE THE HOME: Aerial Images | Aerial Video
RAW INTERVIEW: On-Scene Witness Talks
AT THE SCENE: Cops Investigate Shooting
ARREST AFFIDAVIT: Read Details Of Murder Arrest

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Deputies put Ward (read arrest report) into a patrol car in the back of the sheriff's office building Tuesday afternoon to be taken to the Orange County jail. He was taken into custody Monday night at his Isleworth house. Home video of Ward as he was being taken away in handcuffs was recorded by resident Nico Porcano (video | images).

James Ward called 911 Monday evening telling the operator, "I just shot my wife… She's dead… She's on the floor of the master bedroom." The charging affidavit indicates Ward then put the .357-magnum in their nightstand.

A red stain on the back of his shirt was visible when investigators cuffed him. They asked whether that was wine or blood and Ward didn't answer, but then asked for an attorney.

Ward said his attorney is Elizabeth Green, a bankruptcy attorney. Investigators say they heard him tell Green that his wife, Diane, killed herself. Ward told her he needed a criminal attorney and that he had tried to get the gun out of his wife's hand. Investigators also found a liquid spill on the back patio and broken glass.

"Really haven’t identified what the substance was on the back of his shirt or what was recovered on the back of the patio," sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said.

Ward is an Orlando and out-of-state developer. He has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. His company, Land Resource LLC., has a long list of creditors, including the Atlanta Braves, and Ward's major development in Tennessee has run out of money. The Wards have two daughters, but officers said they have had trouble getting in contact with family members.

Eyewitness News learned James Ward was going to be questioned in a major financial investigation that had the potential to expose some damaging secrets. The Wards found out Monday they were going to be deposed sometime this week by the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee and lawyers for a company that has made serious allegations against James Robert Ward that he took money from his companies to support his lavish lifestyle.

Ward's corporate headquarters for Land Resource was located in an office building near the Mall at Millennia. It was emptied out about two months ago when he went from trying to reorganize his businesses to liquidating them. Workers in the building were shocked when Eyewitness News told them the Isleworth shooting they'd heard about involved the president of the business.

"What's your reaction to hearing the man who owned the business has been arrested for shooting his wife?" WFTV reporter Kathi Belich asked.

"It's very sad. But I didn't know him," the worker replied.

Ward will face a judge at the jail Wednesday morning. Investigators won't say whether his money troubles had anything to do with the deadly tension in the mansion Monday night.

The nearly 9,000 square feet, $3 million home has had some famous owners. Eyewitness News checked with the property appraiser's office and found golfing great Arnold Palmer is listed as the first owner of the home in 1993.

It's also been a home for Orel Hershiser, a former pitcher for the LA Dodgers. Will McBride, a lawyer who ran for the U.S. Senate back in 2006, lived in the mansion. Rance Crain, the CEO of the publishing company for Golf Week magazine also owned it in the 1990s.

ISLEWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD NOT PRONE TO CRIME

The Isleworth community is not a place you'd expect a crime like the Ward murder to happen and Monday night's shooting has done little to shake resident's sense of security.

"Not as much as the rest of Orlando, no," resident Martin Levitt said.

The community is known more for its celebrity homeowners, like Tiger Woods, than criminal activity. That's why the shooting death of 55-year-old Diane Ward and the subsequent arrest of her husband, developer James Robert Ward, have come as such a surprise to many area residents.

"This is a very good area and hearing something like this is really a surprise, but I hope its isolated," a resident said.

Most of the residents were convinced that the shooting in the security conscious, gated community was an isolated incident.

"It's like a fairytale land. Nothing like this happens here. It's perfect," Isleworth resident Nico Porcano said (watch interview).

Orange County deputies said they've visited the address of the shooting seven times in the last eight years. Most of those calls were related to the security alarm and all the calls came before the Wards were the listed property owners.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office's records, there were roughly 2,000 calls for their service in and around Isleworth for the year. While several burglary calls were made, the vast majority involved non-criminal activities like safety checks, alarms and car crashes.

"Usually it's pretty safe," resident Victoria Holden said.

As it turns out, Monday's shooting is the most serious crime that's been reported in 2009 in the area.

"I was pretty surprised, but I guess anything can happen anywhere," Holden said.

Deputies believe Monday's incident is the first reported homicide in Isleworth.