SA man not guilty of neighbour's murder

An Adelaide man charged with murdering his neighbour more than a year ago has been found not guilty because of mental incompetence.

Steven Patrick Berg appeared in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, where defence counsel Trish Johnson said he had been independently assessed by two psychiatrists.

She said prosecutors had conceded he was not competent at the time he killed Deon Hewitt in May last year.

As a result, Justice David Lovell found him not guilty of the murder charge.

Mr Hewitt, 74, died after he was assaulted with a hammer at his Flinders Park home.

Ms Johnson told the court the two experts who had ruled Berg mentally incompetent did not support any leave into the community at this stage and she did not ask for any further reports.

Berg will return to court in December for submissions on his limiting term, the length of time he must spend in psychiatric detention.