Jeff Harlingford


 * For other uses of the name "Jeff", see Jeff (GTA III), Jeff Gurner or Jeff Steitzer.



Jeff, or Jeff the Cuckold (?-2008) in the credits, is a random character in Grand Theft Auto IV encountered in northern Algonquin, near North Holland. Niko Bellic encounters the erratically-behaving man standing across the street from his apartment, ranting and raving about how he suspects his wife of infidelity. Jeff asks Niko to follow his wife and her male friend and to take pictures of them so he can confirm her treachery. Niko does so, but in the course of which overhears his exasperated wife complaining about how her husband doesn't trust her to have purely platonic male friends, and so Niko mentions to the increasingly erratic Jeff that he doesn't think the picture necessarily proves her guilt.

Sometime later, Jeff calls Niko to meet him in an underground parking lot. As it turns out, Niko's attempts to calm him have failed, and the insane man has brutally murdered his wife in a jealous rage, and wants her body and his car dumped in the Humboldt River. The angry and exasperated Niko's task is made all the more difficult by the fact Jeff's wife's bloody body is clearly seen in the car, leading to the police chasing him as he makes his way to Northwood.

When Niko next encounters Jeff, he has (amazingly) remarried, but history repeats itself as he believes his new wife is cheating on him and asks Niko to kill her. Niko refuses to do so, telling Jeff to calm down, which only manages to anger the man more. He runs across the road to confront his wife, only to be struck by a Turismo and killed. The British-accented driver of the vehicle exits the car, examines Jeff's body and calls the police to report that he has "run some chap over". The police tells him to hold, but the man jumps back into his vehicle and flees the crime scene.

Jeff's wife
Jeff's long-suffering wife and mother of his children thought he was a nice guy with a Black credit card, but didn't know he would eventually turn into the suspicious, jealous and controlling monster that he would eventually become, doing things such as hiding all of her underwear and trying to install a tracking device onto her. She turns to one of Jeff's friends for emotional support, not realising that the man was only interested in having sex with her. Sadly, Jeff murders her in a jealous rage, stabbing her fifty times with a kitchen knife, though he maintains she had an "accident".



Jeff's friend
Jeff's friend pretends to provide his wife with platonic emotional support, but is really only interested in having an affair with her.

Trivia

 * Jeff was voiced by Harry Chase.
 * The only way to save him from his death is by parking a truck, van, fire truck, etc. on the left side of where he is sitting but on the street. This is a glitch because right where he was supposed to get hit, he will stand still. The only way to complete the mission now is by shooting him in the head. It is obvious you are not meant to sympathize with him.
 * Jeff suffers from Angina, a severe heart condition, possibly due to his incredibly short fuse and violent temper leaving him frequently over-stressed and anxious.
 * Jeff meets the same end as the GTA CW random character, Marcy.
 * Jeff calls you 10 game days later to do his second random character mission, after he killed his wife, then, oddly, in his third mission where he is re-married, all you need to do is go to his location. It is implied that he eloped with his new wife, as it should take longer to re-marry than to kill someone.
 * It is unclear why Jeff does not count towards 100% completion in GTA IV. It is possible (through the player's choices) to kill the other characters that do not contribute to 100% before meeting them, thereby making their missions inaccessible and resulting in their exclusion from the 100% checklist. However, Jeff is never encountered before the player meets him as a random character, so there is no way the player can 'lock out' his missions and therefore no reason he shouldn't count towards total completion.
 * It is possible to steal the car which Jeff gets hit by before the driver gets back in his car after making the phone call. It will not hinder the completion of the random character mission.
 * If you kill the driver who ran Jeff over, a Mission Complete sound will play, and the wanted level you may get a second later will disappear. But if you aim a gun at him he'll try to get in his Turismo and try to escape.