A woman fatally stabbed her friend and then licked blood from the knife in a spontaneous act while grossly drunk, an Adelaide court has heard, as her lawyer argued she should not be jailed for more than 20 years for her crime.

Leanne Carol Prak, 42, was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of murdering 65-year-old Michael McEvoy at his Holden Hill unit in May last year.

The court heard the victim was stabbed in the chest during a frenzied argument, after which the woman told him, "Now you can see what I'm capable of" as she licked the murder weapon.

It heard the man was stabbed seven more times in the back as he lay dying.

The jury was told Prak phoned friends for help and sent a text message to one which read, "SOS he dead".

Prak was "severely intoxicated" at the time of the attack and had lived with Mr McEvoy for a short time, the court heard.

Through victim impact statements from Mr McEvoy's family, the court heard he was a "warm and generous" man who had spent 25 years trying to get his own apartment.

Michael McEvoy took the woman in rather than see her homeless, the court was told. ( Supplied: SA Police )

He had only lived in his unit for two months when he offered Prak, who would have otherwise been homeless, a place to stay.

Mr McEvoy's sister Glenise Davis said her brother was kind and thoughtful and would be missed dearly, especially over Christmas.

"With his death, a part of me is missing," she said.

Stabbing 'not premeditated'

Under South Australian law, Prak faces a mandatory life jail sentence for murder with a minimum non-parole term of 20 years.

Her lawyer Jane Powell urged the non-parole period not exceed two decades because the crime was not premeditated and her client had been grossly intoxicated.

"It was unplanned, not profit motivated, no apparent motive at all," she told the court.

"It was spontaneous drunken irrationality."

Ms Powell said Prak had a history of dysfunctional relationships, abuse and addiction and would seek to rehabilitate while imprisoned.

"Her goal over the next 20 years is to be a better person," she said.

While in custody, Prak said she had lost her "best friend" and was sorry, the court was told.

But prosecutor Chris Edge said a psychiatric assessment found the woman had no true contrition or empathy for Mr McEvoy.

He said she had a history of resorting to violence, having previously swung a knife while she threatened to cut someone's throat.

Justice David Peek will set a non-parole term in the new year.