Connecticut cannibal Tyree Smith is scaring the family of his murder victim, Angel Gonzalez, after Smith was granted a conditional release from a high-security hospital — and Gonzalez’s relatives are so freaked out they’re applying for a protective order.

TMZ just interviewed Angel’s sister-in-law Talitha Frazier, who says Gonzalez’s daughter is so terrified of her father’s killer, she’s hoping a judge will quickly sign off on the restraining order, barring Smith from returning to Bridgeport, CT — where the brutal slaying occurred in 2011.

As we reported, Smith was accused of hacking Gonzalez to death in a vacant building and eating a portion of his brain, along with his eyeball. Smith was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced to 60 years in a maximum-security forensic hospital.

TMZ also recently spoke to Jeffrey Dahmer investigator Dennis Murphy … who warned Smith could fall back into his murderous ways — just like Dahmer, who vowed to kill and eat people again if he were ever released from prison … before his own 1994 slaying behind bars.

Talitha says she agrees with Dahmer’s assessment, pointing out Smith will likely act out again. She tells us, “[The] only way to protect our society — he should have been kept behind closed doors.”

If Smith does turn into Hannibal Lecter again, Talitha wants everyone involved in his release to be held accountable … namely his doctors, and the Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board.

That said, Talitha wants the public to know she wishes Smith no harm … mainly because she thinks it’s bad karma.