WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A 22-year-old restaurant worker was accused Tuesday of killing a high school student found slain in her Wausau apartment.

Raul Ponce-Rocha was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the slaying May 2 of 18-year-old Breanna Schneller. Police said he denied involvement.

Marathon County Assistant District Attorney Theresa Merriwether said Ponce-Rocha, an illegal immigrant being held in Dodge County by federal immigration authorities, is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday.

Police Chief Jeff Hardel said Schneller was beaten and stabbed multiple times.

Hardel said Ponce-Rocha's DNA was found inside a pair of mismatched gloves recovered by police in a Dumpster outside of El Tequila Salsa, the restaurant where he worked with Schneller's fiancee and brother. The gloves, two pairs of Schneller's underwear and her cell phone were found in a bag inside the garbage bin, Hardel said.

Ponce-Rocha became a suspect when he acted deceptively and gave inaccurate and misleading answers during an interview last Wednesday, Hardel said. Investigators called federal authorities and had an immigration hold placed on him.

According to Hardel, Ponce-Rocha left El Tequila Salsa at 10:20 a.m. May 2 to pick up a co-worker in the parking lot of the apartment where Schneller lived. He returned to work at 10:57 a.m., Hardel said.

It is during that 37-minute period that police think Ponce-Rocha killed Schneller. Two knives were recovered in the apartment, investigators said.

Hardel said Ponce-Rocha acknowledged being in the parking lot of Schneller's apartment but denied his involvement in her death.

El Tequila Salsa owner Rogelio Romano said Ponce-Rocha had worked at the restaurant since it opened in September and was at work the day Schneller was killed.

"That day, it was on the news, and his eyes were watering like the other waiters," Romano said. "He helped that night, he was very helpful. There were no signs. When someone does something like that, they're nervous. He wasn't."

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Information from: Wausau Daily Herald, http://www.wausaudailyherald.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)