Sources: Tape Around Neck of Peterson Baby

May 29 -- A piece of nylon tape was looped around the neck of Laci Peterson's fetus when it washed up on a San Francisco Bay beach, and there was a laceration or tear on the tiny body, sources close to the investigation told ABCNEWS.

There also was tape on Laci Peterson's lower torso, outside her clothing, when her body was found April 14, a day after her baby's remains were recovered, the sources said.

Grisly new details emerging about the condition of the bodies could fuel speculation as to whether the baby ever lived outside the womb, which defense attorneys could use to undermine the prosecution's case against Scott Peterson, Laci's husband and the father of the child they had planned to name Conner.

The autopsy results have been sealed, but prosecutors said that, given media leaks, they will now file a motion removing their opposition to having the reports made public.

"Evidence in this case should be presented in court through the testimony of witnesses and not selectively leaked to the news mediaby unknown persons whom the press will not identify," Stanislaus County, Calif., District Attorney James Brazelton said in a statement.

Does This Hurt or Help the Cult Theory?

Laci Peterson, 27, of Modesto, Calif., was eight months pregnant when her husband reported her missing on Dec. 24. Scott Peterson, 30, was arrested April 18 and is being held without bail on two counts of murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Peterson has acknowledged he was having an affair with a massage therapist, but he insists he never hurt his wife or the baby. His attorneys have suggested the pregnant woman may have been kidnapped and killed by a satanic cult. If there was evidence that the baby might have been born, that could be used to support the theory.

But investigators do not believe Laci was killed by a satanic cult, or that her baby ever lived on its own. "The autopsy in its entirety would not leave as much room for speculation," one source told ABCNEWS.