Koh Tao turned from an island of parties and paradise to the centre of an international media storm when the bodies of two murdered British tourists were discovered on the morning of Sept 15.
Re-enactment questioned: The Myanmar suspects charged with murdering two British tourists have since claimed their confessions were forced out of them.
Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, had been staying separately with friends at a nearby seafront hotel. They were last seen alive walking back to their rooms from the AC Bar, and are believed to have been killed between 2am and 4am. Witheridge was also raped.
The crime shocked the community, but in that morning there was no knowing the case would become such a lightning rod for international criticism of the Royal Thai Police Force and its new commander.
The Sairee beach had been trampled on and there were concerns forensic evidence was destroyed at the crime scene. Surat Thani police also attempted to lock down the island, but this was only partly successful.
Many foreign tourists became concerned about their safety and left the island, while the number of new tourists dropped sharply in the months afterwards.
The case has rarely been out of the news in the months since, with the British tabloids paying particularly close attention.
During the course of the investigation, local and provincial police questioned the victims' friends and witnesses at the AC Bar. Also attracting attention was a village headman on Koh Tao, his son and his younger brother, who at one point were considered suspects. However, police later said there was no evidence against them.
In the face of criticism over the investigation's slow pace, two migrant workers were arrested on Koh Tao in October. Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, both 21 and from Myanmar, now face a range of charges. Police have claimed that DNA taken from Witheridge matched that of the two suspects.
However, the handling of the case has still been widely condemned. Britain sent its own team from Scotland Yard to investigate the crime scene while the Myanmar embassy sent envoys and lawyers to Koh Tao to keep a close watch on the police investigation of the case.
Both suspects claimed via lawyers to be innocent of the charges of rape and murder and said they only confessed after being beaten and threatened by local police.
Prosecutors decided earlier this month to indict the two suspects before Koh Samui Provincial Court. On Friday, they faced court to enter a not guilty plea. Evidence and testimony will be presented in July.