The quest Blood on the Ice appears to be the single most bugged quest in the game. I have now done it on a handful of characters without encountering any issues, but only when doing it in a very specific way.

This method will give you the Necromancer Amulet, the gold reward and increase the disposition with the guards, just as the quest is supposed to. Here goes.

- Gain access to Hjerim.
DO NOT start the quest by nosing around at the crime scene. Either pickpocket the key from the elder Shatter-Shields, or purchase the house if you're far enough in the Civil War questline. You will get the quest in your log either the moment you enter Hjerim, or when you begin to search for clues.

- Search for clues in Hjerim.
Find the two journals, the pamphlets and the Strange Amulet.

- Ask a guard about the Strange Amulet and the pamphlets.

- Talk to Viola Giordano and Calixto Corrium. Sell the amulet to Calixto.

- Talk to Wuunferth.
DO NOT talk to Jorleif.

- Go to the marketplace. If it's already around 9 pm, you may see Calixto sneaking up on Arivanya. If not, wait until around 9 pm the following evening. Kill Calixto and loot the Necromancer Amulet.

- Talk to Jorleif and recieve rewards.

- Partay

That's the major issue; Many people DO NOT get the quest (myself included) when entering the house.

Sadly, not so foolproof. For the way it's bugged for me, I can't do step 1 -- there's no way for me to gain access to Hjerim. I can't buy it, because the Steward tells me there has been some "recent unpleasantness" around the house. And I can't investigate the murders, because... there are no murders. No crime scene, Suzanna is still happily walking around Windhelm.

And I'm level 54, having completed the main quest, Imperial quest, all three guilds, become Thane of the other 4 major cities, Dark Brotherhood, and... well, pretty much everything else I can find to do.

I have the same problem on this one as you do. And probably so many others as well. The only times I get this quest to trigger,is when I've tried loading saves where I've not done any of the guild quests or the main quest. So I've just settled with not getting the house on this playthrough.

Can't get the quest to start, entering the house, grabbing the pamphlet, reading the journal, picking up the amulet, none of these work. I stole the key off Tova after she killed herself because of my DB quest though.

Can't even get it to start with the Console, and using 'Completequest' doesn't make it appear in my quest log. It seems the quest data... simply isn't there?

A bit off-topic, but: Is there an alternative way to finish this quest by stealing Calixto's key and nabbing the Butcher's Journal (no number) from his private chest? I only discovered it on my latest playthrough but having the journal in my inventory didn't trigger any quest possibilities at the stage I was at.

The trouble with this quest is that the crime only happens once, so if you miss it then you have to find another way to start the quest, which is where the glitches start.

The first time you visit Windhelm, the woman with the large briasts will be alive and working in the bar.
After that, every time you visit Windhelm (especially at night) you need to check by the graveyard to make sure the murder hasn't happened and you've missed it.

I've just done it with my latest character.
I visited the city and grabbed some quests, when I returned to Windhelm instead of entering I waited outside until after midnight then entered. I went straight to the graveyard and the crime scene was there and I got the quest.

This is how the quest played out for me:

I entered the city. People said there had been murders. I stumbled across the crime scene. I spoke to the guard who said speak to the steward. I spoke to the bystanders. I picked up the corpse and carried it around balancing it on stuff and left it in a fire. I spoke to the steward, he said I could investigate. A quest marker appeared on that house. I picked my way in (I think), found some pamphlets, some journals, and a secret room. I don't remember an amulet. I spoke to some woman and she told me she wrote the pamphlets. I spoke to the steward and a dialog option popped up that said "The Court Wizard is the Murdararr". Then they arrested him and he went quietly. I did not figure any of this out and I never caught anyone doing anything. I went down to the dungeon to speak with him, hoping maybe the quest wasn't over because it was just too lame.

There will be another part of the quest for you later.
Go back later on and you will find that the murders haven't stopped then you will be able to talk to him.

Not fool proof, all three times I did the mission I just did it via the murder scene.

You're right Elmtree - the quest is supposed to advance past that point at a later date, when another murder happens. (I just wish I could get the FIRST one to happen.)

The big chested lass is still alive for me, quest won't trigger.

Guards don't have the option to talk about the amulet for me. Sussana The Wicked is still alive in Candlehearth Hall, I haven't seen her leave the place. This quest frustrates me

here is a VIdeo from youtube showing how to start it I just used that and it worked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuZyGw-TIVY

Didn't work. This quest could of been so much fun to go through, would of been an interesting murder case for sure. This quest has been the only real glitch I've had in my 100 or so hours of playing skyrim.