Tameka Hargrave, 39, reportedly died in her car while having sex with her mechanic lover

A woman who died inside her Newark garage had reportedly been having sex in a running car with her mechanic lover when her body was found by her husband on Monday night.

Law enforcement sources told NBC the woman, 39-year-old Tameka Hargrave and a 56-year-old man believed to be her mechanic, had died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The sources said they believed Hargrave had been paying the man to fix her car by having sex with him.

Her husband, Kahali Johnson, told ABC he found their bodies inside the garage, along with had been left running in a closed garage, and called police just before 9pm.

Johnson said he went to investigate after a strong gas odour entered his apartment before 9pm on Monday, and found the pair 'laid out'.

He claimed when he found them, they were both outside the car, which had been left running.

'As I tried to open the last garage door, I see the mechanic, he's laid out,' Johnson said.

'She's just a few feet away, she's laid out. And pretty much I had to call 911, because at this time, with that level of emissions, I knew that they were gone.'

She was found by her husband, Kahali Johnson, inside the closed garage, where the car had been left running

Mr Johnson said he went to investigate after he smelled a strong odour of gas in his apartment in Newark, New Jersey, and knew the pair had died of carbon monoxide poisoning

Video courtesy of ABC7NY

Hargrave's mother told CBS her daughter had been going to get an oil filter from her mechanic about 5.30pm - when the pair last spoke.

Family friend Kelly Mitchell said she couldn't get her head around Hargrave's death.

'We want to know why — what was she doing in the car? We don't know,' she said.

Hargrave, a mother to at least two girls, died because there were no carbon monoxide alarms in the garage, her family said.

One of her daughters, Khalisha Johnson, told CBS she didn't understand why they hadn't been installed considering other security precautions had been taken.

'I just want my mother back. I want her to see me graduate high school. I can't do that,' she said.

Law enforcement did not confirm any other injuries as a result of the carbon monoxide, but residents of the apartment complex said they saw at least one person being taken away on a stretcher.

The male victim has not been identified, and police believe their deaths were accidental.

Law enforcement sources told NBC they believed Hargrave was having sex with the man to pay for his mechanic services