Complex sentence: Raymer had previously been tried for the murder of William Donnegan, as he had been placed on the scene, but was acquitted of that and serious charges in two later trials, results that set the tone for the rest of the cases.
Split into simpler sentences: Raymer had previously been tried for the murder of William Donnegan, as he had been placed on the scene. He was acquitted of that and serious charges in two later trials, results that set the tone for the rest of the cases.