PROVIDENCE — Juan L. Diaz, who fled to Albany, N.Y., after being accused of murdering a woman in Pawtucket last week, has waived his right to an extradition proceeding, expediting his return to the state.

Diaz is expected to be picked up by Rhode Island sheriffs on Thursday and held over the Fourth of July weekend at the Adult Correctional Institutions, said Michael J. Healey, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.

He is expected to be arraigned on the murder charge in District Court, Providence, on Monday, Healey said.

Diaz, 24, is accused of shooting Mayra A. Cruz on Wednesday in his basement apartment at 14 Reservoir Ave. The state medical examiner’s office ruled Thursday that Cruz, 26, of Galego Court, died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

According to Pawtucket police records, Diaz phoned the police and said he had shot Cruz accidentally during a struggle over a gun.

But Diaz fled before officers arrived at the apartment, setting off a manhunt that led to Albany, where he has family.

He was arrested in Albany after Pawtucket detectives traced a cell phone call he made to a girlfriend in the Prospect Heights housing project in Pawtucket after he fled.

Diaz is being held at the Albany County Correctional Facility. By waiving extradition, he gave up his right to have a court in New York determine whether the murder charge warranted handing him over to authorities in Rhode Island.