Complex sentence: ' The police had arrested Conley on May 1 after he had been seen washing red stains out of a blue work shirt; detectives examined it for blood, but determined that it was rust as Conley had claimed, and returned it.
Split into simpler sentences: ' The police had arrested Conley on May 1, after he had been seen washing red stains out of a blue work shirt. Detectives examined it for blood, but determined that it was rust as Conley had claimed, and returned it.