Complex sentence: Unarmed, Payne was overtaken by the attackers and purportedly decapitated, one witness to the body's discovery indicated that he was only scalped and his remained attached to his body.
Split into simpler sentences: Unarmed, Payne was overtaken by the attackers and purportedly decapitated. However, one witness to the body's discovery indicated that he was only scalped and his remained attached to his body.