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SAN DIEGO -- A man accused of killing a young woman coworker beat her up and strangled her before stuffing the body in a suitcase and dumping it behind a hotel, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Joshua Matthew Palmer, 33, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment for the murder of 21-year-old Shauna Haynes. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Although Palmer has no significant criminal past, Deputy District Attorney Martin Doyle said he is extremely dangerous. At Doyle's request, the judge set bail at $2 million.

Doyle alleged that Palmer beat and strangled Haynes when the two returned to the Chadwick Hotel, where Palmer was staying, after a night out. He then allegedly stuffed her body in a suitcase and threw it out with the garbage.

The prosecutor said Palmer tried to conceal the murder by sending false text messages to family and friends and cleaning up the room where he killed Haynes.

The body as discovered Wednesday morning by a guest at the Chadwick hotel in the 600 block of A Street. Her body had been stuffed in a suitcase, which was found near a row of trash bins behind the hotel.

Palmer was arrested Friday in the Grantville area. He worked with the victim at the Old Spaghetti Factory in the Gaslamp Quarter, prosecutors said. Friends of the victim told FOX 5 that the two had dated.

According to prosecutors, Palmer texted friends and family members after killing Haynes to avoid suspicion. He also cleaned up incriminating evidence at his home before his arrest, they said.

Prosecutors did not give a motive for the murder.

A status conference on the case is scheduled for later this month, with a preliminary hearing tentatively set for June.